A FEW DAYS 



IN 



BELGIUM AND HOLLAND, 

AN IDLE BOOK FOE AN IDLE HOUE. 



by lady Lees, 

AUTHOR OF ' DRIED FLOWERS \ ' 'EFFIE'S TALES,' ETC. 



" After a voyage. He hath strange places crammed 
With observation, the which he vents in mangled forms." — As You Like It. 




IS 



LONDON: 

EDWAED STANFORD, 6 & 7, CHARING CROSS, S.W. 

1872. 

u 



CONTENTS. 



The Sea voyage — Passengers — The Landing — Dog-carts — Linen- 
bleaching Page 1 



BKUGES. 

Historical sketch — Hotel de Ville — Baldwin IX. — Van Eyek — 
"Saint Sang" — "Salle des Francs Bruges" — Cathedral of St. 
Sauveur — Notre Dame — St. Jacques — The " Place " — Pierre 
Lanchals — Hans Memling 6 



GHENT. 

Ancient Fortifications — John of Gaunt — Monasteries — Baldwin the 
Younger — Prosperity of the City — Place du Yendredi — Jacques 
Arteveldt, the "Brewer of Ghent" — Siege of Ghent — Philip Arte- 
veldt — Hermann Sticker — Reception of William of Orange — 
Cathedral of St. Bavon — Church of St. Michel 16 



ANTWEKR 

The Cathedral — The Market — Tauchelyn — Martyrdom of Fabri- 
cius — Church of St. Jacques — Church of St. Andrew — Bubens 
and Vandyke ' - • HJ 36 



BBUXELLES. 

Old Bruxelles — Church of St. Michel and Gudule — The Inquisition 
— Fate of Counts Egmont and Horn — Pictures in.the Museum — 
J ourney to Moerdyck — Examination of Luggage — Inundations — 
Windmills — Fellow passengers — Dordtrecht — Albasserdam 47 



IV 



CONTENTS. 



EOTTEEDAM. 

Description of the City — Dykes and embankments — Costume of the 
women — The " Oude Kerk " — Cheese farms — The " Kermissen " 
— The " Nachthuizen " — Herring fishing — Storks' nests Page 77 

THE HAGUE. 

De Barneveldt and Grotius — The Arminians — The Gomarests and 
Jansenites — De Witt — Museum of pictures — Monsters — The 
"House in the Wood" — William of Orange — Novel plan of 
watering the roads , 94 

DELFT. 

The " Prinsenhoff" — Gerard Balthazar — A wedding party — Storks 

108 

LEYDEN. 

The Siege of 1573-4 — Origin of the University — Beukels and 
Matthias — Cnipperdoling — John of Leyden . . 121 

HAAELEM. 

Tulips — The " Lake of Haarlem " — The Siege by Duke Frederick 

126 

AMSTEEDAM. 

Origin of the City — Commercial prosperity — Canals — The "Tower 
of Tears " — The Palace — The Jews' quarter — The " Oude Kerk " 
and " Nieuwe Kerk " — Manufactures — Broek — Zaandam . . 129 



A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



" Six weeks 5 holiday " — what shall we do with them ? 
Visit the Channel Islands ? A deep groan from one of 
the party, who was a bad sailor, smote upon our ear. 
" Normandy ? " " Holland ? " A louder groan from the 
sufferer. " Well, Holland ; why not ? We need not 
take the longest sea passage by Antwerp or Rotterdam, 
but the lesser, from Dover to Ostend, and from thence 
by rail." After some little discussion the latter plan 
was settled upon, and Holland was to be our destina- 
tion via Belgium. 

The South-Eastern train careered us through the rich 
county of Kent, where the hop-poles were being reared 
ready for the festooning plants that would soon twine 
around them. Past quiet villages, grey old square- 
towered churches — the dead sleeping beneath their 
shadow — sheep feeding hard by, and the red-hided 
cattle resting their wet noses on the gate, with eyes 
half-closed under the influence of the warm sun. 
Crossing clear streams bordered with willows, and the 
long lance-shaped leaves of the yellow iris just coming 
into golden bloom, a lazy fish here and there rising, 
breaking up the bright picture of reflected banks 
thickly crowded with wild marigold, silver star, and 
blue-bell, the whole intersected with clumps of pale 

B 



A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



primrose. Rushing through dark tunnels, again into 
the bright country laying out under the mellow light 
of the evening sun ; here and there its rays brighten- 
ing up the snug farm-house, with gabled roof, and its 
adjacent straw-yard, stocked as a farmer would love to 
see it ; while close beside were rows of knotted, lichen- 
covered fruit-trees, their gnarled, weather-beaten 
branches breaking out into snowy blossom at the bid- 
ding of the life-renewing season. 

4< The chestnut is laden with stately flowers, 
The thorn is in bridal white ; 
The odorous lilac is heavy with bloom, 
And yieldeth a rare delight/' 

From the hanging woods the notes of the blackbird 
and thrush mingled with the cooing of the pigeons, fast 
assembling on the roof-tops. Everything was coming 
into new life after the long gloomy winter, and the 
tender green of spring was on every herb and flower. 

" Her nimble fingers spun the leaves 
That were to mantle half the happy year in greenery." 

It did not appear to us long before the white cliffs of 
Dover, with its old castle looking seaward, came in 
view. The evening tattoo faintly heard from the 
heights, with the wailing notes of the bugle, welcomed 
us to Dover. A few hours later, long after the evening 
gun had sent its echoes across the water, we descended, 
by the aid of lanterns, the plank leading to the deck of 
the steamer ; finding seats, we were soon watching the 
bustle and arrival of passengers. Their various prepa- 



THE VOYAGE. 



3 



rations, some for the night, others for the feeling of 
discomfort they anticipated, were very amusing, and 
betrayed the overweening selfishness of our poor 
mortal nature ; few places could be better chosen for 
the study of this failing than the deck of a crowded 
steamer. After the arrival of the mail bags, we began, 
to use the captain's phrase, to " shake clown into our 
places and we had more time to note those around 
us. Several dark-looking heaps occasionally moving a 
hand, or foot, proved to be human passengers, who had 
either failed to secure berths, or who, like ourselves, 
preferred the pure air on deck to the mingled odours 
of bad eau de Cologne, and worse brandy, they would 
meet with below. There was the usual slightly obese 
foreign gentleman with dark moustache, looking like a 
"prinio tenore," showing already by the light on the 
binnacle a pale face from beneath the hood of his 
poncho, as anticipation pictured the dreaded " mal de 
mer f while a sturdy English traveller, rolled up in a 
vast shepherd's plaid, would pass and repass the thickly- 
packed groups, only pausing now and then to try and 
catch a glimpse of the two pretty English girls whose 
Loft brown hair kept escaping from the blue veils tied 
round their little sailor's hats. To the sound of falling 
cables and rattling chains, with the hoarse calls of the 
sailors, Ave slowly steamed out of the harbour into the 
open. No need for the fears of the timid, the " primo 
tenore" would escape this time, for the night was 
glorious. Not a ripple on the sea, and scarce breeze 
enough to lift the heavy veil of smoke that hung over- 

b 2 



4 



A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



head. The full moon was rising, "helping after her 
slowly one little star." Every revolution of the paddle- 
wheel marked by a wreath of glittering phosphoric 
light, while the track of the vessel might have been the 
gleaming pathway of angels. This vivid phosphoric 
light held its own through the whole night, notwith- 
standing the bright moon, and only yielded to the flush 
of morning. The day was yet very young when we 
found ourselves gliding up between the anchored 
steamers and fishing-smacks crowding the entrance to 
the harbour, watched by sleepy "douaniers" in long 
green cloaks, who looked wearily down upon our now 
crowded deck. The passengers had all tumbled out 
of their berths, struggling with loose packages, hunting 
up lost umbrellas, and anything but improved in looks 
or temper by the suffocating heat they had passed the 
night in. We who had spent the six hours on deck 
watching the beautiful sea, first under the cold moon- 
light and then under the changing hues of daybreak, 
felt far fresher than those who had at best snatched 
but an hour or two's feverish sleep. 

Of Ostend, the favourite watering-place of Belgium, 
with its fortifications, promenades, &c, we saw nothing, 
owing to the early hour we passed through. The 
country is very sandy on first leaving it, giving one the 
idea of land but lately reclaimed from the sea. On 
the way we met many of the small dog-carts so exten- 
sively used throughout Belgium and Holland. Little 
carts having one or two dogs harnessed to them, filled 
either with vegetables, salt fish, or the brightly-burnished 



FIRST VIEW OF THE COUNTRY. 



5 



brass ewers in which they carry the milk. The poor 
beasts were thin, and looked overworked ; in many 
instances their loads far too heavy for them. It was 
very painful to see the worn, panting animals, strug- 
gling through the sand, with an immense load piled 
up in the cart, and seated on the top of the whole, a 
great heavy man, who could well have walked off with 
the entire concern on his own broad shoulders. 

As we gained inland, we could not but admire the 
richness of the vegetation spread over the flat country. 
The greater part of the land is divided into small fields 
without hedge-rows ; these are mostly replaced by nar- 
row canals or ditches, in many cases broad enough to 
allow of the passage of a flat-bottomed boat. Not a foot 
of the ground is lost, or left to weeds. Spring is cer- 
tainly a favourable time for visiting this country. The 
young hemp-plants, delicate and graceful in their ten- 
der green, while the colza is in full dazzling bloom, 
brighter than gold. In some of the broader canals 
water-lilies were floating on the surface, and as the sun 
slowly declined, they closed their petals and sank under 
the water to await the return of the giver of light and 
heat. In the meadows, yards upon yards of newly- 
woven linen were spread out to bleach, or receiving a 
last sprinkling from the long-handled wooden ladles 
with which the dresser scooped up the water from the 
canal. Here and there a man was seen staggering under 
a mountain of snowy sheeting that he was going to 
house for the night. 

Nothing relieved the monotony of the low horizon 



6 



A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



for miles, save the lines of poplars planted in isolated 
rows, or the innumerable windmills that never seem to 
rest, either in Belgium or Holland. Don Quixote 
would have had no peace in either country. In the 
distance the spires of Bruges were seen, but save for 
these and a lew scattered hamlets, with sleeping cattle 
in the pastures, the view was ever the same. 



BRUGES. 



" In the ancient town of Bruges, 
In the quaint old Flemish city, 
As the evening shades descended, 
Low, and lond, and sweetly blended, 
Low at times, and loud at times, 
And changing like a poet's rhymes, 
Rang the beautiful old chimes 
From the belfry in the market 
Of the ancient town of Bruges." 

As we stepped into the " Place " over which for nearly 
six centuries the belfry has cast its shadow, these chimes 
were waking the echoes of the dull streets. Every 
quarter of an hour they swung their music over the old 
houses, as if by their frequent reiteration they would 
remind the idle passer-by of the departed glory of this 
once prosperous city. To thoroughly enjoy these old 
Flemish towns, or a trip into Holland, one should 
precede it by reading Motley's 'Bise of the Dutch 
Bepublic,' as we had done. His graphic and historical 
writing adds an additional interest to every stone passed. 



BRUGES. 



7 



It is difficult, while recording all that one has found 
interesting or worthy of note during a tour through 
any part of Europe (or, indeed, out of it), not to trench 
on the guide-books — history, geology, &c, find place in 
their pages, in addition to the topography ; and so well 
informed are these books generally, that insensibly one 
finds oneself treading on their heels. Still this should 
not scare one from one's purpose, even at the risk of 
reading sometimes like a guide-book. Their scraps of 
knowledge have, at all events, this advantage — they 
lead you to seek for more, and act as finger-posts point- 
ing to by-ways of history, where redoubled interest 
may be found. 

Walking through the now quiet, dull streets of 
Bruges, it seems impossible to realize its once great 
prosperity : it is only from^he occasional glimpses you 
get now r and then of what still remains of those days 
that you can at all believe it. Looking far back into 
history, the Brugeois are found to have made their 
appearance as early as 678. Baldwin of the Iron Arm 
built a fortress there two centuries later, to defend the 
low, flat country from pirates. Alternately destroyed 
by them, by inundations, and fire, all but decimated 
by a plague, it still rose steadily above all these cala- 
mities, and fulfilled its destiny — that of rivalling Venice 
—seeing its waters crowded with ships from all nations 
— reaching the zenith of its glory in the fourteenth 
century. Her merchants might well be termed Mer- 
chant Princes/' their wealth rendering their power far 
more potent than that of the nobles w 7 hose jealousy 



8 



A FEW DAYS IX BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



they roused. It was long the abode of royalty, and 
for a short period even the prison of one of their rulers 
in the person of Maximilian, imprisoned by order of 
his own unruly burghers. Their triumph, however, 
was short ; their humiliation and punishment severe 
at his hands. Baldwin, Philip the Good, Charles the 
Bold, Mary his daughter, Maximilian, Philip the Fair, 
Charles Y., and Philip II., — all had, at some time or 
another, made it their residence. 

In. the old palace of the Counts of Flanders, of which 
but a few stones are remaining, Charles the Bold held 
high revelry with our Margaret of York. The year 
1559 saw Philip's last celebration, with undue pomp 
and magnificence, of a " Chapter of the Golden Fleece." 
These now silent streets were thronged with armed men 
and gaily-caparisoned steed^ while many a fair-haired 
Flemish beauty bent from the small casemented windows 
to look after the monarch and his gay court — the still 
waters of the canals flashing back the bright colours 
and glittering arms. As we wound through some of 
the narrow streets, we could not help fancying we were 
to meet just such another pageant, for the quaint old 
houses and mediaeval aspect of the surroundings make 
one forget the present. 

The beautiful Hotel de Yille is comparatively little 
injured. The first stone of this building was laid in 
1377 by one of the Counts of Flanders. In the olden 
days the Hotel de Yille and other buildings adjoining 
it formed the three sides of the square ; one side was 
occupied by the church of St. Donant — since destroyed. 



BRUGES. 



9 



In this church Baldwin IX. took the Crusader's oath 
before starting for the Holy Land in 1201. His career 
was brief. Taking ship for Venice, he arrived at Con- 
stantinople. Three years later he was named by the 
Crusaders Baldwin I., Emperor of Constantinople. He 
fell into the hands of the Bulgarians while fighting 
beneath the walls of Adrianople, was imprisoned, and 
ultimately put to death. The celebrated painter, 
Van Eyck, was buried in this church. Born between 
the years 1390 and 1395, he not only made one of the 
household of Philip the Good, but stood high in that 
monarch's favour as a personal friend — often entrusted 
with confidential missions. In 1426 means were fur- 
nished him, according to ancient records, for " Voiaiges 
loingtains, et estr anger es marches!' He accompanied the 
Seigneur de Roubaix to Portugal, sent to solicit the 
hand of the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of John I. 
There he painted a portrait of the Princess, which was 
sent to Flanders. Van Eyck was supposed, in Flanders, 
to be the originator of oil-painting ; but this is erroneous, 
as two centuries before Van Eyck, Giotto, in Italy, had 
discovered the use of oil with colours, and employed 
it with success. There is no doubt Van Eyck per- 
fected the discovery, and brought that style of colour- 
ing into practice — the early Flemish masters painting, 
as many of his own and finest works show, in what 
was termed " grisaille." Philip so honoured him, that 
he stood sponsor to one of his children. In Flanders, 
Holland, Italy, and Spain, as history tells us, art itself 
was not only highly appreciated, but also the Masters. 



10 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



The church of St. Donant was unfortunately destroyed 
many years ago, but not so the small chapel of the 
" Saint Sang " in the opposite corner of the " Place." 
This lovely little edifice, intact in its miniature beauty, 
was built by Thierry D'Alsaee, Count of Flanders, in 
the year 1150, for the reception of the relic (still there) 
of some supposed drops of the Saviour's blood, presented 
to one of the Princes of Flanders by the Patriarch of 
J erusaleni. The ornate front, with its outward flight of 
stone steps, are quite perfect and delight the eye. The 
interior has lately been restored — the fresh, bright 
colours jarring rather upon the harmony of what has 
been left untouched. Four or five good pictures by 
Franck, Pourbus, Crayer, and Delastre, are hung in 
this chapel ; also a portrait, by Suyee, of the Baronne 
de Pelechy, who, by secreting it, saved the relic during 
the French Eevolution. In the sacristie they show the 
reliquaire, encrusted with precious stones, that holds 
the phial when exhibited ; above it is suspended a 
small ducal crown set with jewels, and supposed to be 
the identical one worn by the Duchess Mary of Bur- 
gundy. Besides this there are to be seen in the sacristie 
splendid priestly vestments, of olden date, rich in gold 
and embroidery. As they were held up for our admi- 
ration, I could not help thinking of the garment without 
seam of Him who walked through the cornfields round 
about Jerusalem, preaching the word of God to his 
disciples. 

The old " Salle des Francs Bruges " possesses a mag- 
nificent carved chimney, encircled with figures of 



BRUGES. 



11 



Charles, Maximilian, Mary, and others : the whole in oak 
exquisitely finished, the work of the sixteenth century. 
Tradition, ever ready, credits one Haltsman with the 
work, aided by his daughter, but the real workmen 
were Eogier de Sniet and Adrian Easet or Eas, under 
the directions of Guizot de Beugrant and Lanceloot 
Blondeel. 

The cathedral of " St. Sauveur " is of brick, and 
erected upon the site of an older church burnt down in 
1116, which in its turn had been preceded by a chapel 
consecrated to " St. Eloi." Several times injured by 
fire, its entire restoration dates as late as the year 
1843. As a church it has little beauty, but it is the 
receptacle of some splendid paintings and sculptures. 
The names, Van Eyck, Memling, Claeyssens, Van- 
dyke, Van Oost, are to be found amongst others. To 
select from the many pictures any few in particular to 
dwell upon afterwards, seems almost impossible at the 
time, but now looking back, a 6 Mater Dolorosa/ attri- 
buted to Van Eyck, a 6 Crucifixion,' by Van Hoeck, 
with our Saviour foretelling his Passion to his mother, 
by Van Oost, rise up before me and will not be for- 
gotten. The sculptor of Antwerp, Artus Quellin, has 
immortalized his name here in marble statues and 
wood carvings. 

From the church of St. Sauveur to that of Notre 
Dame is an easy step. Prior to the erection of the 
present building, there stood the chapel of St. Nicholas, 
dating from 745. It is here that the two famous monu- 
ments in gilt copper are seen, erected over the remains 



12 



A FEW DAYS IN BELGITOI AXD HOLLAND. 



of Mary of Burgundy and Charles the Bold, her father, 
exquisite specimens of the goldsmith's work, showing 
an appreciation of finish that is only surpassed by the 
beauty of the artistic design, Mary of Burgundy's 
being decidedly the best of the two ; it was also the 
earliest, bearing date from the fifteenth century. The 
artificers' names are unknown. That of Charles was 
commenced in 1558 and finished in 1562. His was 
the work of Jacques J ongelinck of Antwerp, after the 
designs of Marc G-heraerds. Both are lasting monu- 
ments of a splendour not known in these days. Mary, 
the beloved of iier people during the short time she was 
known to them, died young. Charles the Bold lived 
to be more feared than loved by those he ruled. 
Father and daughter rest side by side in the same 
chapel. These tombs are kept as they deserve'to be, and 
look as if the goldsmith's hand had only just left them. 
It is believed that the heart of Mary's son, Philip the 
Fair, sent from Alsace, is sepulchred in his mother's 
tomb. During the French Revolution, when all the 
churches were sacked and the treasures scattered, these 
monuments were broken into with the anticipation of 
finding jewels. The leaden casket containing the heart 
was cleft in two, but the odour of the spices used for 
embalming proved its safeguard; it was cast aside as 
worthless, and thus rescued. All that could be removed 
of these monuments, besides the effigies of the Duchess 
and her father during this period, were carried off and 
secreted, hence their preservation. 

The church of St. Jacques should be visited for the 



BRUGES. 



13 



sake of its pictures and sculptures, the work of Artus 
Quellin. His famous statue of St. Bock, and beautiful 
oak confessionals are there ; also a pulpit by Louis 
Willimenssens, which will bear comparison with some 
of the best in Antwerp that we saw later. 

After visiting the churches, we turned our steps to 
the old " Place," over w 7 hich rises the tower of " Les 
Halles." A fair was being held under the time-stained 
arches of an open stone gallery fronting the Place and 
running far back. A busy crowd jostled us as we 
passed under the bright-coloured clothes hung up for 
sale, or stumbled over quaint-shaped earthenware 
goods. The heavy arches, the dark oak beams, all had 
a mediaeval stamp that carried one's thoughts back to 
the middle ages. The old inhabitants, it is true, have 
been long gathered to their fathers, yet their influence 
is still felt, and in the stiff white cap and black hooded 
cloak of the women one recognizes a remnant of the 
past. Here it was that the unfortunate Pierre Lan- 
chals was imprisoned ; he forfeited his life to the hatred 
entertained against his master Maximilian. His execu- 
tion took place in front of the tower. A monument to 
his memory is placed in the cathedral of St. Sauveur. 

It has been asserted that Bruges was the birth-place 
of the painter Hans Memling, but there is so much 
doubt as to the truth of this assertion, and so much 
obscurity envelops the early part of his history, that 
it would be absurd to give this as a fact. Born at 
the end of the fifteenth century, some old documents 
have been found in which he is mentioned as being at 



14 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

the camp of Charles the Bold. They are receipts for 
monies advanced to him for various paintings; the 
tradition being that he had left the army before the 
defeat of Gransen at Murten, and the Emperor's death 
at Nancy, where the body of the dead prince was found 
"stripped and frozen, face downwards, in a pool .of 
blood and water." It is certain that in the winter of 
the same year, 1477, Memling arrived at Bruges, and 
was admitted into the "Hopital de St. Jean," being 
the friend of the brother Jean Flaxicus, or Van der 
Ryst, The first of the many pictures he painted there 
is his ' Sybella Sambetha, 5 the least deserving of 
notice. 

Amongst other highly-finished works of Mending's 
to be seen in this collection, is his famed ' Chasse de 
St. Ursule,' executed at the order of the Superior 
Adrian Eeims. This Chasse was destined to contain 
the relics of St. Ursule and her companions brought 
from Cologne. Every part is as highly finished as a 
miniature on ivory, or an enamel on copper. The 
colouring is still as fresh as the day he painted it. 
This exquisitely delicate style of art was essentially 
his own. No other artist ever attempted it. 

Bruges possesses the greater number of his pictures, 
but there are besides these, his well-known ' Seven 
Sorrows of the Virgin ' in the Museum of Turin, and 
his ' Seven Joys of the Virgin,' with the series repre- 
senting the principal events in the life of the Saviour, 
at Munich. At Madrid is his 6 Adoration of the Kings.' 
A missal, illuminated by him for the Cardinal Grimani, 



BRUGES. 



15 



is kept in the church of St. Marc, at Venice. In Italy 
and Germany are many of Memling's smaller works. 
He died in Spain. 

With the name of Bruges are associated the me- 
mories of many of the old masters born in that city. 
Van Eyck, in the fourteenth century, Hans Memling, 
in the fifteenth century, Aselem Boetus, or Deboodt, 
Francis Pourbus, Josse de Momper, Claeyssens, Jean 
Stradanus, in the sixteenth. In the seventeenth, 
Jacques Van Oost the elder, Jacques Van Oost the 
younger, J. Van den Kerkhove, Pierre Claeyssens the 
younger, Suvee, and Louis de Dyster ; the eighteenth 
century^ Jean Beerblock, P. A. Van den Berghe, Pierre 
Bemaut, Jean Garemyn, and Pierre Pepers, besides 
many of lesser note. 

Civil wars and religious persecutions fill many pages 
of the history of Bruges, and I could not help thinking, 
as the twilight fell over the city, and the first star of 
evening shone out clear and bright, how many sufferers 
had looked up to its quiet light longing for rest. The 
chimes were again ringing out their tones when we left, 
as they had done when we arrived. 

" Then most musical and solemn, bringing back the olden times, 
With their strange, unearthly changes, rang the melancholy chimes, 
****** 

Visions of the days departed, shadowy phantoms filled my brain, 
They who live in history only seemed to walk the earth again." 



16 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND, 



GHENT. 



We were told we should not find so much to interest 
us in Ghent as we had found at Bruges. Our experience 
does not tally with this. In some respects, perhaps, 
may a little disappointment be felt. There is not the 
same richness in painting, and the modern prosperity 
of the city has encroached, and, as it were, much over- 
laid the historical remnants of the past. Still, to those 
who are willing to seek, is there much left to be found. 
The streets are full of surprises, so much that is quaint 
and picturesque in the glimpses you get here and there 
of old buildings yet standing, sturdy and hale in their 
age, for did they not in those days build as if for eternity ? 
These memorials of a day gone by contrast charmingly 
with the city of to-day. 

Here and there a sudden turn brings before your de- 
lighted eyes a long reach of narrow canal, with water 
so still that not a ripple breaks the reflexion of the 
damp-stained walls that rise sheer out of it, and have 
thus been mirrored for, at least, three or four centuries. 
Fragrant wild flowers and creeping stone-crop swing in 
the light air, where of old the armorial banner hung out 
its folds. Nature is ever anxious to conceal the ravages 
of time. Many of the tall pyramidal-fronted houses 
of Charles and Philip's reign are yet there intact. A 
great number of them have, in the upper part of the 
front, one large circular window, suggesting the idea of 



GHENT. 



17 



an ever-watchful eye grimly overlooking the modern 
street. The contrast of this single round casement 
with the other small diamond-paned ones placed be- 
neath, gives a fantastic appearance to the whole build- 
ing. The neat dress of the women, in white cap and 
black " fayal," the shovel-hatted priests, with here and 
there a brown-cowled Franciscan friar, or a group of 
Beguine sisters, all tend to add an " olden time " aspect 
to the place, which is inexpressibly delightful to any 
one fresh from the smoky every-day life of the London 
streets. 

That Ghent was known to the Romans is evident by 
the Roman coins and encaustic tiles found in great 
quantities near the present Zoological Gardens. The 
church of St. Pierre, it is believed, was preceded by a 
temple dedicated to Mars. St. Arm and founded, near 
the church, the monastery of the order Ci Benedictines 
of St. Pierre/' in the eighth century, besides a second, 
where now stands the church of St. Bavon. These 
monasteries contributed much to the civilization and 
subsequent prosperity of the city. St. Pierre was 
destroyed by the Normans, but restored by one of the 
Counts of Flanders in 948. This building suffered later 
from the fury of the Iconoclasts. The present church, 
in its entirety, dates from the seventeenth century. 

* The history of Ghent may be said to be thoroughly 
known only from the eighth century. Its inhabi- 
tants had erected, at the confluence of the Schelde and 
the Lys, fortifications into which they could withdraw 
when threatened by an enemy. This spot now goes 

c 



18 



A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



by the name of " de Kuyp van Gent/' or the tub of 
Ghent. Charlemagne had a fleet of flat-bottomed boats 
built here, for his wars with the Normans and Danes. 
He came himself to inspect them sailing from Boulogne 
to Ghent. Baldwin of the Iron Arm, first of the Counts 
of Flanders, built, in 868, the fortress " Graven Casteel," 
of which only the fine old arched gateway and two 
small towers remain. Standing upon a hill, from whence 
in those days it overlooked all the surrounding country, it 
must have been a noble edifice ; where now it is hemmed 
in by modern houses, once spread out fortifications sur- 
rounded by a moat. Even now, shorn of its propor- 
tions and literally built up into the street, it is a goodly 
remnant of the feudal past. Beneath its archway passed 
a gallant show the day Baldwin brought the daughter 
of Charles the Bold to her home. Within these walls, 
it is said, Queen Phillipa gave birth to John of Gaunt 
during her sojourn in Flanders with Edward III. 
This old ruin sternly arrests the eye of the passer-by, 
as if it would challenge inquiry. When the large 
palace was built in which Charles V. was born, this 
old fortified regal fortress became a prison. The crimi- 
nals executed were placed in front of the gloomy gate- 
way where, as we passed, a group of merry boys were 
playing " pitch-and-toss." How many of those who 
passed out from that archway to lay their heads beneath 
the headsman's axe had played as risky a game with 
their fates, in those turbulent old times ! 

Of one of the two monasteries founded by St. 
Armand, and dedicated to St. John, there still remain 



GHENT. 



19 



some interesting relics ; namely, a fine doorway, the 
entrance to the church from the cloisters, with some 
ruins of the latter. Charles V., in 1540, destroyed 
this monastery to build on its site a citadel, which in its 
turn was memorably razed to the ground, in 1577, by 
the Ghenters, aided by their wives and children, after 
its recapture from the Spaniards, who had defended it 
gallantly with a mere handful of men under the direc- 
tions of their commander's wife, the commander him- 
self being absent at the time. The church alone was 
allowed to remain, and Charles re-dedicated it to the 
patron saint of the city, St. Bavon. His history, like 
that of so many at that period embracing in later years 
a monastic life, was that of a reckless libertine. 

It was to Baldwin they ounger, in the tenth century, 
that Ghent owed the commencement of her prosperity. 
He it was who first invited the weavers and fullers to 
set up their manufactories, besides encouraging agricul- 
ture and protecting the land labourer. Under his fos- 
tering care the city prospered rapidly, notwithstanding 
the severe check it received in the eleventh century, when 
it became nearly depopulated by the plague brought 
from the East. Under the judicious rales of Baldwin 
VIII. and IX., its trades and manufactures became 
so renowned that they supplied woven goods to the 
whole of Europe. At this time the city only covered 
the space between the two rivers, the Schelde and 
the Lys, strongly fortified all round by towers at its 
four gates. 

The law passed in the thirteenth century forbidding 

c 2 



20 



A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



the acquisition by any citizen of property out of Ghent, 
tended greatly to increase the wealth of the actual city, 
and encouraged its trade. Strangers were invited to 
take up their residence in it ; and, as inducement so to 
do, exceptional privileges were granted them; while, 
on the other hand, all who could render no satisfactory 
account of their mode of living were expelled. Usury, 
practised by the Jews, was sanctioned and carried to an 
extraordinary extent. These people, amassing great 
riches, gained with their wealth the influence the latter 
brings with it. They became an important portion of 
the population, and swelled the ranks of the merchants. 

The Gkenters were not merely distinguished for 
their industry ; they were a bold and valiant people, 
good fighters, as history proves in their repulse of 
Edward I.'s army ; and later, when united with the Bru- 
geois, ill-armed as they were, they gained the famous 
battle against the French, who were commanded by 
Eobert D'Artois. He fell with six thousand of his 
bravest followers, near the walls of Courtrai. These 
are only two in the long list of sturdy and victorious 
fights undertaken by those whose hands could so well 
guide the shuttle, and the strong arms that knew how 
to wield a pike or turn a fulling wheel. 

The annexation of Flanders to France under Philip 
" the Fair " did not lessen its active prosperity. Accord- 
ing to Motley's account, "the bells were rung daily, 
and the drawbridges over the many arms of the river 
intersecting the streets were raised in order that 
business might be suspended while the armies of work- 



GHENT. 



21 



men were going to, or returning from their labours." 
According to hiin, also, Ghent could bring into the 
field " 80,000 fighting raen." Of weavers the number 
amounted to 40,000, and all could and were only too 
willing to bear arms. This will give some idea of the 
power of this turbulent old city. 

Although under Philip the industry was not lessened, 
its liberties became somewhat restricted, and its internal 
government changed. This was not likely to be tole- 
rated by such an independent race, and the result was 
their uniting with the general insurrection in Flanders 
against their Governor, Jacques de Chatillon, and later 
against Louis de Crecy. The big bell Eolland sus- 
pended from the belfry that reared itself high above 
the city, could at any moment gather the citizens to the 
" Marche du Vendredi," where all the members of the 
different guilds assembled. Rolland's iron tongue never 
wagged in vain. As his summons echoed far and wide 
over the crowded streets, the weavers and fullers would 
leave shuttle and wheel, and meet ready armed, 
beneath the shadow of the belfry, eager to follow the 
popular leader of the moment, or respond to the watch- 
word of any new faction, be it " white hood " or " black 
sleeve." 

The now husy Place du Vendredi was the scene of 
one of these terrible responses to Rolland's summons. 
On Monday, the 2nd of May, 1345, when' a difference 
between the two factions of the weavers and the fullers 
was settled by a sanguinary battle, the priests, in the 
hope of parting the combatants, brought out in full 



22 



A FEW DAYS EN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



procession tlie host, but without avail ; nothing could 
que]! their fury, until the fullers numbered several 
thousand killed, and their surviving comrades expelled 
the town. Well might that day ever go by the name 
of " le mauvais Lundi." 

Jacques Arteveldt, known as the famous " brewer, of 
Ghent," was chosen their leader when they decided 
upon resisting Louis de Crecy's rule. Jacques Arteveldt 
was born between the years 1290 and 1295. Descended 
from a noble family of Ghent, and educated at the 
Court of France, the companion of Louis le Hutten, he 
very early began to sympathize with the independent 
spirit of his countrymen. Eenouncing all the pleasures 
and ambitions of the French Court and his associates, 
he returned to Flanders. Joining the corporation of 
brewers, he shared with his fellow-citizens the troubles 
of their long resistance to their governors. He it was 
that adopted the plan of dividing the city into 250 
districts, each district under a president, or leader. In 
one hour he could thus summon to arms an army that 
might have dictated to the whole of Flanders. Accord- 
ing to Froissart, " there never was in Flanders, nor in 
any other country, prince, duke, or other that ruled a 
country so peaceably or so long, as this James 
D' Arteveldt ruled Flanders ; " but like all leaders 
chosen by an unsettled people, his prosperity was not 
to be lasting. Jealousies and schisms sprang up to 
destroy his influence with his followers, and the treaty 
of commerce with Edward III., although adding much 
to the extension of trade, brought his unpopularity to a 



GHENT. 



23 



climax. His enemies, ever secretly seeking to under- 
mine his power, asserted that he was endeavouring to 
substitute the sovereignty of England for that of their 
own lords. However they might choose to cavil with 
the rule of these latter, and rebel against their decrees, 
they would tolerate no ruler from England. The invi- 
tation given to Edward to meet his " dear gossip," as he 
styled Arteveldt, at Sluis, confirmed their suspicions of 
his treachery. Neither his past popularity, nor the 
remembrance of the many victories he had led them 
to, served to avert the fate decreed for him by his 
enemy, Gerard Denys. At the latter s suggestion he 
was attacked by an armed multitude, and after a severe 
struggle struck down by an axe, at the door of his own 
house, which stood at the corner of the " Eue de la 
Calandre," and close to the lane named "Padden 
Hock." On the house now occupying the site of 
Jacques' residence hangs a metal shield which enables 
one to distinguish it from those surrounding. The 
Ghenters, well knowing their power, were never happy 
under their actual ruler, native or foreign. Indeed, so 
well was this known, that it became a bye-word, " ceulx 
de Gand aymoient le filx de leur Prince, mais le Prince 
non jamais." 

The extravagances of Louis some years later again 
roused the hatred of the people, and civil war broke 
out afresh. Louis besieged Ghent, hoping thus to 
subdue his unruly subjects ; but when nearly reduced 
to a state of famine from the long continuance of 
the siege, they elected, in the Place du Marche du 



24 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

Vendredi, Philip, the son of Arteveldt, their leader, as 
his father had been before. After his election as Pro- 
tector of Ghent, he ordered the immediate execution of 
his father's murderers. This done, he led out his 
armed followers, gave battle to Louis, and obliged him 
to raise the siege. After a brief but brilliant career, 
Philip Arteveldt was killed at the battle of Eosebecque 
or Eobsebeke, when the Count Louis, aided by 
Charles VI. of France, again gave the Ghenters battle 
and defeated them. 

The year 1448 saw fresh struggles against a tax on 
salt imposed by the Count ; a second, levied upon corn, 
drove the people once more to arms. This rebellion 
lasted two years, but he ultimately defeated his unruly 
subjects at the battle of Gavre. This w^as the first step 
towards the downfall of these stiff-necked Flemings. 
They again refused to recognize Maximilian of Austria 
as the guardian of the Duchess Mary's son, but were at 
last obliged to submit, after a severe struggle under the 
walls of the city. Their greatest humiliation, and the 
final overthrow of their powerful leaders, occurred on 
their refusing the subsidy of four thousand caroli, which 
brought Charles himself back to Ghent that he might 
personally enforce obedience. Then it was that the 
famous bell EolJand was doomed. It was no longer to 
ring out its far-sounding summons to " white hoods " or 
"krysschen," but, like the proud burghers, was to be 
overthrown. With halters round their necks, kneeling 
in the dust, had these latter to sue for pardon — a 
pardon in some individual cases not granted ; these 



GHENT. 



25 



forfeited their lives as well as their estates. Charles 
himself was little inclined to leniency, and his coun- 
sellor, the Duke of Albe, not prone to advocate such a 
course. The four thousand caroli had to be paid, with 
an additional fine of one hundred and fifty thousand. 
Besides this, a sum of six thousand annually was to be 
exacted. Charles's punishments were ever severe, and 
this was no exception to the rule. The whole was 
conducted with a solemnity and pomp likely to impress. 
It is most graphically described in Motley's work, and 
I would advise its perusal there. Charles deputed the 
punishment of Ghent to no substitute, but himself 
undertook the task, traversing France with the per- 
mission of Francis L, and re-entering Ghent with a 
magnificence of retinue that made it more Like a 
triumphal return after gaining a victory. Charles was 
justly proud of his birth-place, and the w r ealth and 
position it had attained. After subduing his subjects, 
he took the Duke of Albe to the summit of the belfry, 
and surveying the scene at his feet, replied to the 
Spaniard's suggestion that it would be well to destroy 
the city, by the well-known query, " How many Spanish 
skins, think you, it would take to make such another 
glove " (gant) ? He was very fond of playing on this 
w r ord, and had before remarked " he could have put the 
whole of Paris in his glove." 

It was in Ghent that Philip II. proclaimed Marguerite, 
Charles's natural daughter, Eegent of the Netherlands. 
A little later the reformed faith began boldly to assert 
itself, and its teachers preached publicly in the streets. 



26 



A FEW DAYS IX BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



One Hermann Strieker, a converted monk, upon whose 
head there was set a price, came openly to give himself 
up, but the authorities feared to molest him. Crowds, 
counted by thousands, were lead by him out of the 
city into the green meadows, where they listened to his 
preaching, and returned converted. Eis eloquence, 
and that of others that followed in his steps, soon began 
to take effect, and in 1566 commenced the devastation 
of churches, to the cry of " Tive les gueux ! " Count 
Egmont, by the command of Philip, re-established 
order ; but the Duke of Albe's bloody executions and 
wholesale confiscations drove the Ghenters to seek 
shelter from his persecutions in Germany and England, 
where they took with them their religion and their 
industry. Until 1577 the Reformers were merely 
persecuted, but the time had now arrived when they 
feared no longer to assert themselves boldly. Then 
commenced the first Anti-Catholic revolution in 
Flanders, the forerunner of many a bloody struggle 
between the two faiths. Eyhove, the instigator of the 
movement, summoning his followers at nightfall by the 
sound of a bell, bore down on the palace inhabited by 
the Governor Aerschat, at St. Bavon. Here, refused 
admittance by the guards, Eyhove threatened to fire 
the palace, or in his words, " bum the birds in their 
nests :' ? the Governor, seeing the mob were in earnest, 
capitulated, and was removed at once to the house of 
Eyhove. The most prominent of the Eoman Catholic 
party were secured likewise without bloodshed. 

An address published by the nobles and leaders in 



GHENT. 



27 



defence of this revolution greatly strengthened the 
cause of the Keforniers, and produced a marked effect 
throughout the Netherlands. Arend Van Darp was 
sent to Ghent to try and procure the release of the 
prisoners and remonstrate with the promoters of the 
movement. He succeeded only in obtaining that of the 
Governor. Later the Prince of Orange himself went to 
Ghent, hoping to restore tranquillity. His reception, in 
the description given by the American historian, is so 
good that I cannot resist repeating it in his own words : 
6 The visit was naturally honoured by a brilliant display 
of 6 rhetorical ' spectacles and ' tableaux yivants ' ; for 
nothing could exceed the passion of the Netherlander 
of that century for apologues and charades. In allegory 
they found an ever-present comforter in their deepest 
afflictions. The Prince was escorted from the town gate 
to the Jacob's church amid a blaze of tar-barrels and 
torches, although it was mid-day, where a splendid 
exhibition had been arranged by that ' Sovereign guild 
of rhetoric, Jesus with the Balsam flower.' The drama 
was called Judas Maccabseus, in compliment to the 
Prince. In the centre of the stage stood the Hebrew 
patriot in full armour, symbolizing the illustrious guest 
doing battle for his country. He was attended by the 
three estates of the country, ingeniously personified by 
a single individual, who wore the velvet bonnet of a 
noble, the cassock of a priest, and the breeches of a 
burgher. Groups of allegorical personages were drawn 
up on the right and left : Courage, Patriotism, Freedom, 
Mercy, Diligence, and other estimable qualities upon 



28 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

one side, were balanced by Murder, Rapine, Treason, and 
the rest of the sisterhood of crime on the other. The 
Inquisition was represented as a lean and hungry hag. 
The 6 Ghent Pacification' was dressed in cramoisy satin, 
and wore a city on her head for a turban ; while tied to 
her apron-strings were Catholicism and Protestantism 
bound in loving embrace by a chain of seventeen links, 
which she was forging upon an anvil. Under the anvil 
was an individual in complete harness, engaged in eating 
his heart — this was 6 Discord.' In front of the scene 
stood History and Rhetoric, attired as 6 triumphant 
maidens in white garments/ each with a laurel crown 
and a burning torch. These personages, after holding a 
rhymed dialogue between themselves, filled with won- 
derful conceits and quibbles, addressed the Prince of 
Orange and Maccabaeus, one after the other, in a great 
number of very detestable verses. After much changing 
of scenes and groups, and an enormous quantity of 
Flemish- woven poetry, the ' Ghent Peace' came forward, 
leading a lion in one hand, and holding a heart of pure 
gold in the other. The heart, upon which was inscribed 
Sinceritas, was then presented to the real Prince, as he 
sat ' reposing after the spectacle,' and perhaps slightly 
yawning, the gift being accompanied by another tre- 
mendous discharge of complimentary verses. After this, 
William of Orange was permitted to proceed towards 
the lodgings provided for him ; but the magistrates and 
notables met him upon the threshold, and the pensionary 
made him a long oration. Even after the Prince was 
fairly housed, he had not escaped the fangs of Allegory ; 



GHENT. 



29 



for, while he sat at supper refreshing his exhausted 
frame after so much personification and metaphor, a 
symbolical personage, attired to represent the town 
corporation, made his appearance, and poured upon him 
a long and particularly dull heroic poem. Fortunately 
this episode closed the labours of the day." 

The Duke of Parma subdued Flanders in 1584, and 
starved Ghent into submission ; restoring once more 
the Catholic religion for a time only, as subsequent 
events will show. The first exodus of those w T ho would 
not give up their reformed creed took place, England 
and Holland sheltering eleven thousand of them. This 
now unfortunate city seemed never destined to remain 
long under the same ruler: Louis XIV. of France 
took it after six days' siege, only to lose it ; again 
re-taking it, and finally giving it up in 1709. The 
peace restored it to Austria. Louis XV., after the 
battle of Fontenoy, made his triumphant entry into 
Ghent. At the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle it was restored 
to Marie Therese. Her son J oseph, too, was proclaimed 
on the Place of the Marche du Vendredi in 1781. 
Eight years later the Ghenters rose in rebellion, and 
during the gloomy month of November the narrow 
streets witnessed a fearful struggle, commenced by an 
affray in the Place d'Armes between some Austrian sol- 
diers and the citizens. For several days the fighting was 
continued, and only.- ended when the Austrians, to the 
number of three thousand, evacuated the citadel : they 
re-occupied it a twelvemonth later. The Netherlands 
fell to France after the battle of Jeraappes. During 



30 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

the French Revolution La Bourdonnaie entered Ghent, 
followed by a band of republicans, and proclaimed 
liberty in the name of the Republic. Its struggles did 
not cease until the eighteenth century. It is now 
once more a flourishing city, with every prospect of 
progressing onwards, and resuming much of its old 
prosperity. Napoleon visited it with his, first wife 
Josephine, and secondly with Marie Therese. Louis 
XYIII. sought refuge in it after Napoleon's return 
from Elba, and only left it after the battle of Waterloo 
restored him his throne. The aspect of the town is 
rapidly changing; old canals are being filled in and 
becoming wide streets ; the ground that was fought for 
inch by inch in the olden time is now covered with hand- 
some shops and comfortable houses ; spaces left open 
round the drawbridges are being narrowed, as the 
ground increases in building value; the March e du 
Vendredi, which had been the scene of so many his- 
torical events, has been curtailed, and shorn of half its 
proportions — it could no longer serve, as of old, for the 
assembling of riotous citizens — it is barely large enough 
for the markets held in it. Much of the past is thus 
overlaid, but it is still easy to trace enough that is 
interesting during a visit to this cheerful town. Maxi- 
milian's marriage with Mary was celebrated here in 
one of the churches. 

Wandering from street to street, we came to the 
Place called the Quai aux Herbes. The handsome 
Maison des Batelliers is still intact, and near it in good 
preservation a house built in the eleventh century, 



GHENT. 



31 



pyramidal fronted and pierced with many windows. 
The upper story was gained from within by a ladder, 
and a fourth part of every load of grain that came into 
the city was garnered there, the inhabitants thus en- 
deavouring to guard against scarcity. It was called 
the Halle au Ble. We had wandered many hours 
through the crowded streets, and by the time we reached 
this place our feet were feeling the effects of the old- 
fashioned paving, and our heads that of the sun : like 
Eosalind and Touchstone, we did not only exclaim, "How 
weary are my spirits," but " I care not for my spirits if 
my legs were not weary;" and we decided that we must 
either give up for the day our further inspection of the 
town, or get some mode of conveyance. At that mo- 
ment a " vigilante," as they term these slowest of slow 
coaches, passed, and we gladly availed ourselves of it. 
After some difficulty we succeeded in making the 
driver understand it was all the oldest part of the town 
we wished to visit — a wish he received with a con- 
temptuous shrug of the shoulders, and an inward pity 
at our evident want of taste. To the Hospital Bylogue 
he took us: here is still found in good preservation 
some portions of the old abbey and church of that 
name. They owe their preservation to having been 
merged into the newer portion of the building. The 
frontage, in the style of the fourteenth century, and 
facing the river, is well seen from the meadows. Its 
bricks, tortured into bosses and trefoil ornaments, are in 
excellent order. It is one of the best specimens of this 
style known in the Netherlands. The large hall was 



32 



A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



the ancient refectory of the monastery. Here also may 
be found, in what has now become a "granary, a portion 
of a large mural painting, dating from the thirteenth cen- 
tury, probably the only one yet remaining in Flanders. 

The cathedral of St. Bavon, in which you may still 
see the font in which Charles V. was christened, de- 
serves a long visit. The pictures are numerous, and such 
as are rarely met with out of Flanders. Amongst the 
many one would wish to remember, is a 'Crucifixion' 
by Gerard Van de Miere, reminding one of his master 
Van Eyck's style. Here, in the chapel bearing its 
name, is the famous painting on wood by the brothers 
Van Eyck, 'The Lamb,' from the Apocalypse. This 
precious relic of early art was painted originally on 
twelve panels, four of which are those at St. Bavon. 
The remaining eight are in the Museum at Berlin. 
The dignity, finish, and expression of the different 
figures, and the easy grace of the draperies, has no 
rival in modern art. The twelve panels, commenced 
in 1422 by Hubert Van Eyck, were finished by his 
brother Jean in 1432. Eubens is represented here 
by one picture only, but one of his finest, 6 The Re- 
ception of St. Bavon into the Monastery.' It would 
weary the reader, and after all give but a very in- 
adequate idea, did I try to describe further the paint- 
ings found in this and other churches, they are so 
numerous. One carries away the memory of some 
that will not he forgotten, and yet there are many 
one would fain remember a little longer. The sculp- 
turing must, however, not be passed over in silence, 



GHENT. 



33 



when one has to deal with such names as Boesknt, Hel- 
derenberg, and Van Sutter. The Flagellation of our 
Lord over the tomb of the Bishop Van der Voot, ex- 
ecuted by these three, is alone worthy of a visit to St. 
Bavon. The work of Verschaffelt in the tomb of the 
Bishop Van der Noot, and others by Duquesnoy and 
Delcour, are also very fine. 

To the church of St. Michel we next directed our 
steps. Here again the paintings w T ill bear a long in- 
spection. The church itself has no beauty, having been 
despoiled of all its ornamental beauty by the French 
revolutionists, and by them turned into a Temple of 
Reason. The treasure, in my eyes, of St. Michel is the 
dying Saviour on the Cross, by Vandyke. Granted 
that the colouring has somewhat suffered from many 
cleanings, this does not destroy the feeling of the 
whole. It is not one of those pictures that allows itself 
to be forgotten, "It comes unbidden to haunt me." 
Vandyke felt the beauty of expression that must have 
characterized the countenance of our Lord. 

Ghent has many other churches dating from every 
century, beginning at the tenth, all more or less rich in 
works of art ; but we had to visit the celebrated Beffroi 
erected in the twelfth century, and playing so memor- 
able a part in the history of the city. Above it again 
swings the gilt dragon, originally brought to the Brugeois 
by Baldwin, from Constantinople, and wrested from them 
by Philip Van Arteveldt, while commanding the Ghenters 
in their quarrels with them. During the festivities 
given in celebration of Charles V.'s birth, rope gal- 

D 



34 A FEW DATS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

leries were swung from the summit of the Beffroi to 
that of the church of St. Nicholas ; along these aerial 
bridges, adorned with many-coloured banners, the citi- 
zens amused themselves by passing to and fro. From 
the summit of the Beffroi Charles made the speech we 
have recorded elsewhere, and here often came Philip Van 
Arteveldt to watch for the approach of the enemy which 
he and his " White hoods " knew so well how to repulse. 

The Hotel de Ville, architecturally imperfect as it is, 
having been carried out in different styles, is still very 
beautiful in that portion adhering to the Gothic, and 
had it been so terminated would, there is no doubt, have 
been the most perfect specimen in the country. There 
is a small tower at the angle not quite finished, with 
two hanging pierced balconies or galleries, which, all 
incomplete as they are, cannot fail to charm the eye. 
This building, commenced in 1481, was not terminated 
(and then in the Italian style) until 1600. 

Rising straight out of their own reflexion in the 
clear waters of the Lys stand a group of dark brick, 
time-stained buildings, undoubtedly ecclesiastical, and 
which from what we heard we concluded were the de- 
pendencies of the church of St. Michel. They form a 
beautiful group, rich in colour and lichen-covered, with 
here and there a tuft of wild flowers w r ooing the breeze. 
It was a quiet, sleepy picture ; even the boy who was 
fishing from an overhanging parapet seemed under the 
influence of a spell, so motionless did he stand. 

From the stormy memories recalled by the Beffroi 
and the Marche du Vendredi, it was pleasant to turn 



GHENT. 



35 



into the quiet quarter given over to the gentle sisters of 
the Beguines, passing on our way to it all that remains 
of the old palace in which Charles Quint was born. It 
now forms part of a modern manufactory. In the 
quarter of the Beguinage, each house is surrounded by 
its own walled garden, or little moat, every house named 
after some patron saint, and lodging several of the 
sisterhood. We met groups of the good sisters, who paused 
to look after the busy strangers, with calm, gentle eyes? 
full of kindness and repose. Held together by no religious 
vows, although a strictly religious community, bound in 
no way irrevocably to this life, still they cling to it 
faithfullv. Their order has thus continued true to its 
founder's wishes for six centuries. Instituted by Jeanne 
of Constantinople, a Countess of Flanders, in 1234, it 
has changed in no way from that date, — a perfect rem- 
nant of the middle ages, flourishing in the heart of a 
busy city of the nineteenth century. In the great 
Beguinage, situated in the older quarter of the town, 
the sisters number between six and seven hundred ; in 
the lesser, founded by the Countess Jeanne and her 
sister Marguerite, for a poorer class, they do not much 
exceed four hundred. In the streets you meet the 
black-hooded figures in groups, or singly, bent on some 
errand of charity or devotion. In the churches you 
will find them praying, while in their ow T n neighbour- 
hood you see them attending to their neat little 
gardens, or standing at their doors. Their dress is 
somewhat like that of the Sisters of Charity in France 
the cap not so large, and on their shoulders the national 

d 2 



36 



A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



" fayal " over their black dresses. After visiting this 
quiet corner, we decided upon leaving Ghent. We 
wished to take with us, as our last remembrance of the 
place, the calm, quiet gaze of the group that had 
watched us out of sight. 

Note. — The painter Van de Meire, said to be a pupil of Van Eyck 5 
was born in Ghent in the fifteenth century, also Van der Goes; the 
following century Liemaecker, called " Boose." 



ANTWEKP. 



From our windows in the Place cle Mier we could see 
the beautiful tower of the cathedral of Antwerp, and 
all nio\ht Ions* " hear its manifold soft charms " min- 
gling with our dreams. Through one end of this broad 
street, where still a few old houses of that day remain 
untouched, passed Philip of Spain when entering in 
triumph the city that was to suffer so much at his 
hands. The market is held in the widest part of the 
Place, the greater portion of which was at one time a 
broad canal, but now filled in, forming a noble thorough- 
fare. It is a pretty sight to see the market-women in 
their national dress, long-eared caps that reach oyer 
their shoulders, and their funnel-shaped straw hats, 
sitting amongst the vegetable and fruit stalls^ or eating 
their morning soup out of quaintly-shaped, bright- 
coloured earthenware cups, some of them surrounded 
by taH 3 graceful brass ewers, Etruscan in form (gene- 



ANTWERP. 



37 



rally heirlooms), burnished like gold, flashing back the 
sunlight from their bright sides, and filled with new 
milk. Lower down the street is found the house 
inhabited by Bubens, and in which he died. This city 
dates certainly as far back as the year 641, when St. 
Armand preached Christianity to its inhabitants, and 
built the church of St. Pierre and St. Paul. He was 
followed in the same year by St. Eloi. In 1124 St. 
Norbert tried to recall the people from frightful here- 
sies. At the end of the eleventh century, amongst others, 
Tauchelym, with his hideous blasphemies, carried the 
excited populace along with him. Preaching one day, 
he pointed to an image of the Virgin Mary, and calling 
out, " Vierge Marie, I to-day take you for my spouse," 
exhorted the people to furnish him with means " for 
the wedding," having by his side two open coffers, the 
one to receive offerings from the men, the other from 
the women. The blinded multitude, in their infatua- 
tion, tore the jewels from their necks, to contribute, 
with aught else they had, to his treasure. The career 
of this infamous man was not terminated until he had 
led his disciples into the grossest superstitions. He 
met his death at the hands of a monk ; but long after 
his death hi$ teaching continued to bear bitter fruits. 
No city has perhaps known greater vicissitudes and 
religious persecutions, or given birth to stranger sects, 
than Antwerp. These narrow old streets echoed back 
alternately shouts of triumph, or the sad wail of despair. 
How many unknown martyrs have resigned the life lent 
to them but for a while, on the very spot we looked 



38 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

upon. Edward of England made it Lis home once, 
residing in the abbey of St. Michel. 

In 1369 Antwerp passed into the hands of the house 
of Burgundy, by the marriage of Marguerite, daughter 
of Louis, Count of Flanders, with Philip the Bold, first 
Duke of Burgundy. In 1477 it again followed the 
fortunes of a woman in the person of Mary (by whose 
death the Burgundian line became extinct) when she 
married the Archduke Maximilian, taking with her 
all the provinces of Belgium. With unsurpassed splen- 
dour and pageant Philip of Spain, afterwards husband 
of our Mary, made his triumphal entry into this city, 
his father, Charles Quint, haying abdicated in his favour 
the sovereignty of these states. Then commenced the 
hated domination of Spain, and her Inquisition. It 
was during the reign of Charles Quint that Antwerp 
rose to the full height of her prosperity. Then Portu- 
guese trading ships from the West Indies were seen 
crowded on the broad Schelde, laden with spices and 
other merchandise. Before the doubling of the Cape 
by Vasca de Gama, ships from Italy plied to and fro by 
the Bed Sea, bringing from Asia and Egypt untold 
riches to the Antwerp merchants. Here the brave 
Coligny was imprisoned after the destruction of St. 
Quentin, and became converted to the faith for which, 
and in which, he died. Here also one very different 
from the lion-hearted noble admiral, came and made his 
terrible power felt, — Peter Titelmann, the Inquisitor. 
Prisons were filled with those of doubtful faith, while 
the torture and stake never rested. One ghastly spec- 



ANTWERP. 



39 



tacle, amongst many others, was witnessed in the mar- 
ket-place, now crowded with merry buyers and sellers, 
— the death of a Carmelite monk named Fabricius, who 
having left a monastery at Bruges and embraced the 
reformed faith, was condemned to the stake after torture. 
The well-nigh maddened people attempted a rescue, 
but all too late to save the victim of a cruel superstition. 
The executioner, before flying from the mob, crushed 
the prisoner's head with a mallet, and then stabbed 
him. But we will leave these records of a fearful past, 
and the sufferings of those who in their warring creeds 
gave up their lives with an earnest desire to glorify 
their Father, and we will hope, nay, believe, that He who 
can read all hearts will have let them reach His feet. 

Few travellers are aware, as they pass through the 
"Bue aux Fleurs," that it does not take its name from 
any floral association, but from the name of the painter 
Floris de Yriendt, who here built a house which he 
decorated himself; but the lapse of three centuries 
has seen the name corrupted, and its origin almost 
lost. 

High above the quaint old houses of the market- 
place rises the beautiful spire of the cathedral, its 
delicate tracery thrown out by the clear blue sky. This 
church was commenced in the fifteenth century, and 
terminated in the following. It has suffered much from 
the fury of the religious feuds, and the many struggles 
the Netherlands had to contend with. The long perse- 
cuted Beformers, when they did turn upon the oppres- 
sors, wreaked their vengeance by despoiling the churches 



40 



A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



of all beauty. Not satisfied with hurling down statues 
of saints and images of the Saviour, they must needs 
break up, with pick and axe, every part of the orna- 
mental interior they could reach, and scatter the stones. 
Devastated as it now is of all its fine statuary and ornate 
carvings, it is still beautifnl from its proportions, and 
wealthy in works from the hands of Van Eyck, Eubens, 
Vandyke, Grayer, Pourbus, and other great masters. It is 
wonderful to look at these splendid pictures and see them 
so little injured by time. Their colouring is so rich and 
true, that one's eye becomes impatient of anything less 
harmonious. Magnificent as is Eubens's famed ' De- 
scent from the Cross,' I prefer the 6 Erection ' by the 
same master, also in this church; the expression of 
the Saviour's face is so wonderfully resigned and holy. 
Over the altar is another work of Eubens, the 
' Assumption of the Virgin.' Some beautiful monu- 
mental statuary is found here from the chisel of Artus 
Quellin, and others. The Flemish sculptors possessed 
a magic art, all their own, in rendering drapery. Their 
folds have such graceful ease that it is difficult to 
believe them marble. This ease is also visible in their 
wood carvings. 

In a side chapel of the church of St. Jacques, Eu- 
bens was interred with his two wives, and others of his 
name. Over the altar in this chapel is a painting of 
his, ' The Virgin and Child,' surrounded by many 
other figures ; each head is a portrait of one of the 
Eubens family, his own being also given in that of St. 
George. The colouring of this picture, as well as some 



ANTWERP. 



41 



of the heads, is very fine ; but it lacks the elevation of 
sentiment found in his other paintings. 

The church of St. Andrew can rival that of St. 
Jacques in interest. The names of all the old masters 
are connected with it, both painters and sculptors. 
The pulpit, by Van Gheel and Van Hoel, is one of the 
finest in this city of fine pulpits. Against one of the 
columns hangs a portrait of Mary Queen of Scots, 
supposed to have been painted by Pourbus ; under it is 
a tablet with the following inscription in Latin : — " Mary 
Stuart, Queen of France and Scotland, mother of 
James, King of Great Britain, seeking shelter in Eng- 
land during Elizabeth her cousin's reign, was betrayed 
by the nobles and heretics, kept nineteen years a 
prisoner, and finally decapitated under a religious pre- 
text. Her martyrdom occurred 1587, and at the age 
of 45." This tablet was erected by two Scotch ladies, 
who had held appointments in her household, and at 
her death made Antwerp their residence. The portrait 
is stiff, and gives but little idea of the beauty attributed 
to the unfortunate Queen. 

It is in the Museum that the finest works of Eubens 
and Vandyke are to be seen, 6 The Incredulous Dis- 
ciple,' by the former, has an amount of expression, 
apart from its other merits, that deeply impresses. The 
prying doubt of Thomas, the wonder of Peter, and the 
tender, compassionate pity of John, whom his Master 
loved, is all given. In the same gallery is also the fine 
' Dead Christ,' supported on a stone bench littered 
with straw, and called 6 Le Christ a la Paille.' Then, 



42 



A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



again, 6 Christ Crucified between the two Thieves. 5 
Besides these, the Museum boasts of an unsurpassed 
treasure in Vandyke's 'Saviour on the Cross,' No 
words can give its sublime perfection. It must ever 
remain unriyalled. Works of Hans Meniling, Quentin 
Masseys, or Metsys, Jean Bosch, Mabuse, Snyders, Ten- 
niers, Jordaens, &c, are to be found here. Amongst 
so many pictures, it seems hopeless to point out more 
than a few of those that arrested our attention. There 
are two, however, that I must add to my list, namely, 
' The Bepast of the Eagles/ a fine, vigorous painting, full 
of life, by Pierre Boel, but often erroneously attributed 
to Jean Fyt, and ' The Card Players,' by Valentin. 

Antwerp can boast of having given birth to the 
longest list of painters in Flanders. In the sixteenth cen- 
tury were born here Vandyke, Couget, Briel, Francker, 
Van Meulant, Crayer, Van Uden, Wildens, Pepyn, De 
Vos, Van Utretcht, Spranger, Van Noort, master of 
Bubens, Momper, Van Balen, Van Mai, the two Neefts? 
Franck, Snyders, the two Zegers, Snayers, the two 
Jordaens, Bombouts, Schut, Calvart, Fouquiers, Ten- 
niers, Eyckens, Meil, surnamed by the Italians " Gio- 
vanni delle Vite." In the seventeenth century, Tenniers 
the younger, Quellin the younger, Eyckens the younger, 
Maes the younger, Neefts the younger, Van Hoeck, the 
pupil of Bubens, Fyt, Boel. Boeyermans, Cassiers, Coninck, 
Beltiers, Huysmans, Marc Antonio Garabaldio, Bloemen, 
called "Orizonte," also an engraver, Van Lint, Tassaert, 
Goubau, Coex,Pieters, De Witte, Oumaganck, Abshoven, 
Van Cortbeinde, Genoels, Herreyns the old, Ehrenberg, 



ANTWERP. 



43 



Van Breda, Seberechts, Van Schupper, Wans, Rysbrack, 
Haremans, Kerriex, Verbuck. In the eighteenth century, 
Geeraerts, Van Reymarten, Herryns the younger, Bes- 
chey, Van der Voort, Lens, Denis, Smits, Van Brie, De 
Brackeleer. This is a goodly list for one city. Many of 
these painters are but little known out of the Netherlands, 
and yet are they deserving of fame. The following cen- 
turies become less and less prolific in artistic names. Will 
such numbers from one city alone ever be read again ? 

Little is now left of the old Citadelle built by Alva's 
architect, Pachiro, a brave soldier and clever engineer, 
who died an ignoble death at Flushing by the hands of 
De la Marck's band. Victorious in their encounter with 
the Spaniards in the estuaries of Zealand, they had just 
entered the Schelde where, meeting with the unfor- 
tunate Italian, who was on his way to complete some 
fortifications in that part of the country, they seized 
him as a Spanish spy, and hanged him. The old Red 
gate still stands — or rather stood while we were there 
— but its days are numbered ; all the ground having 
been purchased for building. With it yet remains the 
ruin of the fortified ramparts from which, looking oyer 
the Schelde in 1567, three thousand Calvinists watched 
the fearful struggle and disastrous defeat of their co- 
religionists, headed by the young Thoulouse ; they had 
seen him cut to pieces, his adherents slaughtered or 
driven into the Schelde by the Catholics under the com- 
mand of the Seigneur de Beau voir. The wife of de 
Thoulouse, aware of his defeat, but not yet of his death, 
excited the already enraged Calvinists, calling upon 



44 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



them to issue forth and avenge, if they could not save, 
their brethren. From every street and alley they 
poured down towards the Eed gate, the only one left 
for their egress, and with lance and pike, sledge-ham- 
mer, or any arms within reach, intent on the rescue of 
their friends, they rushed onwards. But the Prince of 
Orange fearing the consequences for the city, mounted 
his horse and appeared at the gate alone, facing the 
infuriated mob, one of whom attempted his life. He 
was soon joined by Hoogstratten. Undaunted by the 
threats of those around, he at last prevailed upon the 
greater number to abandon their design. Unfortunately 
for the three hundred Calvinist prisoners, de Beauvoir, 
hearing the tumult and fearing a rescue, ordered them 
to be shot. It had been his intention to save them for 
the sake of the ransom he hoped to obtain for them at 
the hands of their friends. Matters were, however, not to 
end there. The safety of Antwerp was still threatened ; 
fifteen thousand Calvinists lay encamped on the Place de 
Mier. The Prince of Orange, equal to the occasion (when 
was it that his cool head and clear judgment failed him?), 
laboured hard to avert the misery of such an event. In the 
night he secretly prevailed upon the Lutherans, jealous 
of the Calvinists, to join the Catholics in restoring order, 
and having gained these latter over to his cause, attended 
by Hoogstratten and a committee of the municipal 
authorities, he addressed the irritated people, urging 
them to refrain from the dreadful struggle, and avert 
the ruin pending, by agreeing to the articles he had 
read out to them. The right of worship was conceded, 



ANTWEKP. 



45 



and the foreign garrison forbidden. He ended by 
asking them, in token of their acceptance of his terms, 
to raise the cry after him of " God save the King." 
Arms were thrown down, and the hour of peril passed. 
Antwerp was saved for the time ; but it still had to 
witness fierce struggles, the last being in 1830, when 
Belgium separated from Holland. 

Near the magnificent new docks stand two sturdy 
memorials of the olden time, left untouched as yet — 
the large building of the Hanstartic Confederacy, and 
one perfect tower of a powder magazine, erected during 
Philip's reign. On the Place near the old building 
of the Hotel de Yille amongst other houses equally 
ancient is shown the house Charles Quint some time in- 
habited. In the narrow streets of the old town are many 
wooden houses yet standing, nay inhabited, that were 
erected in the fourteenth century. In these wretched 
streets, hardly wide enough for two people abreast, the 
population swarms like bees. Coming upon a part of 
the town where improvements are being made, and the 
entrance to these mere alleys laid open, they look like 
the sections of some habitation built by insects, and as 
thickly populated. I have seen sections of ants' nests 
from Africa which immediately occurred to me. How 
it is possible for human life to exist in such an atmo- 
sphere, and so densely crowded, is an enigma. But a 
few more years and these alleys will be seen no longer, 
for Antwerp is fast modernizing. Looking into the 
canals, watching the bright-coloured, strangely-shaped 
boats, exactly what you have seen in the old Dutch 



46 A FEW DATS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

pictures, waiting for tlie tide or the towing rope, you 
are carried back to the time when those long-dead 
artists had looked upon the same picture. The women 
amongst their children, cooking, working, living their 
lives afloat, on board these broad-beamed galiot-shaped 
barges we know so well (they are old friends) as they 
had been to Van de Velde and many others, whose 
brushes have rendered their names famous. 

Never was the inevitable law of reaction more forcibly 
displayed than in this city, for so long a time the scene 
of such steady resistance to the religion they hated. 
Could the old Keformers now see in how few hearts the 
faith they bled for lives, they would suffer even more 
than they did. Every stone could tell its tale of horror, 
and of triumph gained by these devoted men. And yet 
at the present day every tenth man you meet is a black- 
robed priest; and at every corner of the street is 
erected a shrine to the Virgin Mary, or Saint. Antwerp 
is again rising after her long slumbers into a pros- 
perous mercantile city, trading with the whole world. 
A drive round the busy quays and fine docks will soon 
show the passer-by that the beautiful Princess has at 
last been awakened by the kiss of busy Prince Com- 
merce. 

" A hundred summers ! Can it be ? 

And whither go est thou, tell me where ? 
O seek my father's court with me, 
For there are greater wonders there. 

£ $ * * * 

And far away 
Beyond the night, across the day 
Thro' all the world she foUowed him." 



( 47 ) 



BRUXELLES. 



Modekn Bruxelles is so well known with its pleasant 
boulevarts, shady park, and gay streets, that I shall not 
attempt to describe it. The older portion of the town, 
which is gained by descending the steep hill, may per- 
haps be less known to many of those who pass through 
it. Like Bruges and Ghent, it takes its place early in 
the history of Flanders. The first religious edifice built 
there was erected in the seventh century on the island 
which still retains its name, St. Gery, or "Gangerie." 
Like the two former cities, its manufactures consisted 
mainly of woollen and woven fabrics, its speciality 
being splendid tapestries. The weavers and fullers 
here, as there, numbered by far the larger portion of 
the inhabitants. Like them again were they impatient 
of taxation, or control, ever at war with their rulers, 
their troubles and quarrels a mere repetition of their 
neighbours, and unfortunately as disastrous. In the 
commencement of the fourteenth century they took arms 
against Duke John II., and were beaten by the nobles, 
forfeiting all their privileges. It was only during the 
reign of Philip the Good that Bruxelles attained its 
permanent position. Old Bruxelles, built on high 
ground, with the Senne running at its foot, bordered 
with rich pastures, and extending woods that terminated 
in the far-famed forest of Soignies, retains still a dis- 
tinctive character, although the higher ground is built 



48 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

over by the new town, and the green meadows, and 
hanging woods given place to extensive suburbs. The 
forest of Soignies yet remains, and part of the old wood 
retained is converted into a charming place of resort, 
after the fashion of the Bois de Boulogne in Paris. 
The old Palace, since destroyed by fire, occupied what 
is now the Place Eoyale. Commenced in the eleventh 
century, and beautified by each succeeding sovereign, it 
became one of the finest palaces in Flanders, surrounded 
as it was by its gardens and parks stocked with game. 
Nothing now remains, save its fame. The modern 
Palace occupies part of the ground opposite the park. 
The Walloon armourers inhabited the quarter called 
the Sablon. That called D'Anderlecht was almost en- 
tirely devoted to the weavers and fullers, while the 
tanners settled themselves in a street which still goes 
by their name. While all that part of the city had 
been given up to the bustle and noise of trade, the 
western end was sheltering, and still shelters, the peace- 
ful order of the Grand Beguinage, a branch of that 
order we had seen at Ghent, and established in Bruxelles 
as far back as 1250. Philip the Good carried on the 
works of the church of St. Michel and Gudule, the 
foundations of which had been laid by Lambert Balderic, 
Count of Louvaine, and dedicated to St. Michel, the 
name of the female saint not being added until her 
remains were transferred to the church, namely, in 
1047. Three centuries elapsed before the termination 
of this fine edifice, hence the incongruities to be found 
in its architectural details. Still as a whole it is very 



BRUXELLES. 



49 



striking. Like all the churches in this country, it 
suffered from the spoliation of Iconoclasts. The elegant 
tower of the Hotel de Ville is seen above all the 
quaint old houses in the Grande Place, many of which 
are very handsome. Here still stands the Maison du 
Eoi, or " Broodhuys," in two of the lower rooms of 
which Counts Egmont and Horn passed the last night 
of their brilliant career. But their deaths deserve 
something more than these few words, and I will en- 
deavour later to condense the narrative and give it a 
few pages farther on. During the fifteenth century this 
Place was the resort of the noblest society in Bruxelles, 
for here were held the tournaments. Between two and 
three hundred of the highest names of Flemish chivalry 
have been called over in the lists. Amongst others 
that of Duke Philip the Good, Charles V., and Comte 
D'Aremberg, who, being overthrown by his adversary, 
died in consequence of the injuries he received. The 
festivities inaugurating the marriage of the Duke of 
Louvaine with the widowed Duchess of Milan, were 
terminated by a splendid tournament on this spot. 
x\nother time, when the conqueror came forward to re- 
ceive the prize, his uplifted visor disclosed the well- 
known features of Philip, the son of the Emperor, who 
had secretly armed himself in the " Broodhuys," and 
entered the lists to break his lance in honour of the 
Archduke Maximilian. On the very spot where vic- 
torious knights had knelt to be crowned by the fair 
hands of the Queen of the Jousts, and had their ex- 
ploits watched by the brighest eyes in Bruxelles, were 

E 



50 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

to kneel, who knows how many, martyrs — victims of a 
cruel creed — noble and lowly, side by side, praying their 
last prayer, and perhaps seeing their crowns of glory 
brought to them by angelic hands, while their heavy 
eyes caught a light that was never seen on earth. 

Charles V. selected this city as best suited for the 
pageant with which he graced his abdication in favour 
of his son in the year 1555, a year for ever to be 
remembered by those who from it dated the oppression 
of the Spaniards and the power of the terrible Inquisi- 
tion. Splendid as had been the ceremonials during 
his reign, this one surpassed any that had been 
witnessed, not only in its splendour, but in the number 
of nobles assembled, many of whom, the most dis- 
tinguished, fell later under the treacherous tyranny of 
their new sovereign. Amongst the foremost of these 
stood William of Orange, later to become one of the 
wisest and best-loved rulers of the land, Counts 
Egmont and Horn, Meghen, Aremberg, Berghen, 
Montigny, Berlaymont, and many others whose names 
are written in history, too many of them traced in 
blood. There also, by the side of those who were to 
suffer from their baneful influence, might have been 
seen Cardinal Granville, Arschat, and the afterwards- 
dreaded Noirecarmes. It would be terrible to give 
here a list, if indeed it were possible, of the numbers 
who met their death at this time, all of them decreed 
by the Inquisition and "Blood Council." Sufficient 
only to repeat the words of the historian, " It was found 
more expeditious to send them in latches to the furnace." 



BRUXELLES. 



51 



I will give but one of these fearful incidents. On the 
evening of Shrovetide, a holiday with the Nether- 
landers, 400 were captured in the midst of their merry- 
making, and immediately executed. Is it to be 
wondered at, that their Spanish rulers were execrated, 
or that, remembering it was from under the shadow of 
the Cross these decrees were issued, that emblem 
which, alas ! ought only to have brought peace, became 
to them a hated symbol ? The Inquisitor held it up to 
them reeking with the blood of their fellow-country- 
men. Was it for this the Saviour died on Golgotha ? 
In quiet places, amidst the unburied victims of this 
terrible persecution, lying out in the fields under the 
light of the stars, the oppressed met secretly, yowing a 
revenge they carried out for many a long day, with 
a courage and tenacity worthy of those stanch Flemish 
hearts that were but apparently crushed under the iron 
rule of Spain. On the 16th of February, 1568, one 
final sweeping condemnation came from the "Blood 
Council " condemning " all the inhabitants of the 
Netherlands to death as heretics!' But we will return 
to the one great tragedy that has for ever set its mark 
on the Place of the Hotel de Ville. Before detailing it, 
we will take the reader with us a few streets away, and 
look on the site now occupied by the "Prison des 
Petits Cannes." There once stood the famous Hotel 
Culembourg, to w r hich the nobles retired after their 
well-known interview with the Duchess Marguerite. 
Count Brederode, with others, having solicited an inter- 
view with the Duchess, presented her with a petition 

e 2 



52 A FEW DAYS EN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

imploring her to use her influence with his Majesty to 
abolish the edicts of the Inquisition, edicts that, as they 
pointed out, were not only persecutions, but would 
eventually lead to civil war. In the meantime they 
urged her to order a general surcease of the Inquisition. 
The Duchess became much excited, seeing the noble 
petitioners were not only supported by the people, but 
looked up to by them as deliverers of their country. 
Angry and fearful as she was, she still declined to give 
an answer on the spot. " Then each noble, after 
making humble obeisance, slowly moved away, giving 
her ample time to reckon their numbers." Notwith- 
standing the oft-repeated assurance of the Prince of 
Orange, that the deputation which had just left con- 
sisted of honourable gentlemen, and not seditious rebels, 
their only object the welfare of their country, she could 
not conceal her fears. This scene led to Berlayinont's 
memorable speech, " Comment done. Madame, votre 
Altesse a-t-elle crainte de ces gueux " (beggars), a term 
which was afterwards to become the motto and war-cry 
that echoed over the length and breadth of the land, 
and for ever live in history. Berlaymont's speech was 
soon known to Brederode and his companions at the 
Hotel de Culembourg : it was received by the former 
in a spirit of mirth, which however was soon to 
turn into a very different feeling. Angry murmurs at 
the indignity were heard round the table. Reckless 
and ever ready, Brederode addressed his companions, 
" Thev call us beggars, so be it. we will accept the 
name, and we will battle with the Inquisition, but we 



BRUXELLES. 



53 



will remain faithful to the King, even if it reduce us to 
the beggar's wallet." Bidding his attendants bring 
him all the different articles the professional beggars 
arrayed themselves in, namely, the grey frieze coat, the 
wallet, the grey felt hat, and the wooden bowl, he 
placed the hat on his head, and had the bowl filled to 
the brim with wine, draining it to the health of the 
beggars, "Vive les gueux," each noble in his turn doing 
the same, w T ith the additional distich — 

u Par le sel, par le pain, par le besache, 
Les gueux ne changeront, quay qu'on se fache." 

What at first commenced in mere wild merriment, 
terminated in a solemn pledge, entered into by all 
present, that from that day the watchword of " the 
beggars " should teach Philip what they could and 
were ready to do. Medals were struck off and worn as 
badges. They were of copper or lead : on one side, the 
head of Philip ; on the reverse, two hands clasped within 
a wallet, and round, the words " Faithful to the King." 
All beards were shaven, and nothing worn but long 
drooping mustache, their attendants also wearing the 
grey livery. Thus dressed was William of Orange the 
day that the bullet of the Spanish assassin took a life 
so precious to his country. His hat, doublet, and 
badge are preserved in the Museum at the Hague. 
The account of the banquet held at the Hotel Culem- 
bourg, with its termination, was all duly transmitted to 
Spain, to irritate still more the despotic monarch. 
From that day the fates of Egmont and Horn were 



54 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

decided, besides that of many others who had joined 
the Confederation, or whose high position attracted the 
jealousy of the Government. Philip and his adviser 
Alva were both implacable enemies, but knew well how 
to conceal their plans until everything was ready for 
their execution. Unfortunately Egmont would neither 
see his own nor hear of Horn's clanger. They both 
believed and accepted the commendations of Philip 
forwarded them through the Seigneur de Billy, and no 
warnings could damp Egmont' s spirits or confidence. 
On the 8th of September, 1567, he received a mys- 
terious warning urging him to escape, bift he was still 
unable to believe in danger. The next day he was 
invited with Horn and others to a banquet given by 
the Grand Prior Don Ferdinanclo, who, the moment 
Egmont was seated beside him, whispered, " Leave this 
place instantly, Count, take your fleetest horse, and 
make your escape without delay." Much troubled by 
this warning given by the Prior, himself a Spaniard, 
Egmont rose hastily from the table, and was retiring, 
but the crafty Noirecarmes, whose suspicions were 
aroused, and who Lad no wish to see the victim escape 
the fate he knew so well was purposed for him, laughed 
at the Count's fears, and dissuaded him from leaving 
the hall. After dinner, a request came from the Duke 
of Alva that the two Counts, with their companions, 
should repair to his abode, the Hotel Jassy, there to 
inspect some plan of fortifications for the city of 
Antwerp. When on the point of leaving the house, 
Egmont was arrested by Don Sancho and desired to 



BRUXELLES. 



55 



give up his sword ; at the same moment the unfortunate 
Count found himself surrounded by soldiers, and a 
prisoner. The arrest of Count Horn was effected at 
the same time, while crossing the courtyard, and the 
fate of many others decreed. Egmont and Horn's 
reckless defiance and open scorn of Cardinal Granville 
and their enemies, hastened their downfall. Both 
were haughty in temperament, nobly born, and highly 
honoured, nay, in Egmont's case, beloved, for was he 
not the hero of ballad and song? Popular from his 
gallant deeds, and admired for his personal beauty, was 
it to be expected such men would tamely brook the 
persecutions and double-dealing of a man like Alva ? 
It were needless to give here the details of their so- 
called trial ; it is recorded in history. Sufficient to say 
that it was but a mock process, for the sentence had 
long secretly gone forth from Spain. As knights of 
the " Golden Fleece," they claimed the privilege of the 
Order to be tried by its statutes, but without avail. 
Egmont, as a member and Count of the Holy Roman 
Empire, demanded to be judged by his peers, but this 
was equally set aside. Nor was it to be expected that 
the prayers of his wife, or those of the old mother 
of Count Horn, would avail against the jealousy of 
Spain. 

On the 3rd of June, 1568, the two Counts were 
brought from Ghent (where they had been conveyed 
and imprisoned during their supposed trials) into 
Bruxelles, and lodged in the Broodhuys, opposite the 
Hotel de Ville ; on the 4th the Duke of Alva condemned 



56 A FEW PAYS IN BELGIUM AMD HOLLAND. 



them both to be executed by the sword on the follow- 
ing day. and their heads placed on high in a public 
place, there to remain until he should order their 
removal. The Bishop of Ypres was sent for by the 
Duke to shrive the prisoners. On hearing the duty 
expected of him. the Bishop fell on his knees and im- 
plored against the terrible sentence, but in vain. The 
last who pleaded for the life of one she had loved so 
faithfully, was his distracted wife and the mother of his 
eleven children. She sought the Duke herself, and 
kneeling at his feet, implored mercy. The Duke, with 
the cruel irony that was one of his characteristics, 
raised the suppliant with true Spanish courtesy, assuring 
her that on the morrow her husband should be released. 
Can anyone picture the horror and anguish of the un- 
fortunate woman the next day. when she heard how she 
had been deceived ? 

The Bishop, entering the room in which the Count 
was confined, just before midnight, found him sleeping. 
Gentlv rousing him from his slumbers, he placed, with 
trembling hands, before Egmont the order for his exe- 
cution on the morrow, Without a change of colour, 
the Count read the document steadily through, merely 
expressing astonishment, mingled with indignation, at 
a sentence so unjust. But soon this indignation gave 
place to the remembrance of the wife and children he 
was never to meet again on earth. He feared that 
the persecutions he suffered would pursue those he left 
so desolat-. The Bishop exhorted him to turn his 
thoughts heavenwards, for the night was fast leaving 



BRUXELLES. 



57 



them, and the streaks of early dawn heralding the 
prisoner's last day on earth. 

" Kneeling before the Bishop, he confessed himself 
and received the Holy Sacrament. Rising from his 
knees, he asked the Bishop what prayer he should 
use at the hour of execution? The Bishop replied, 
none was so fitting as the one taught by Jesus 
Himself to His disciples : 6 Our Father which art in 
heaven.' However the strong man might struggle with 
his feelings, Nature w T ould have her own way, and once 
more the thought of his family thrust itself between 
him and the good Bishop's teachings : he yielded to a 
burst of grief that w r ould know no control. ' How 
miserable and frail,' to use his own words, e is our nature, 
that when we should be thinking of God only, we can- 
not shut out the images of wife and children.' His last 
act was to sit down and write his well-known letter to 
the King, his secret and inveterate enemy. ' Sire, — I 
have learned this evening the sentence which your 
Majesty has been pleased to pronounce upon me. Al- 
though I have never had a thought and believe myself 
never to have done a deed w 7 hich would tend to the pre- 
judice of your Majesty's person or service, or to the 
detriment of our true, ancient, and Catholic religion, 
nevertheless I take patience to bear that which it has 
pleased the good God to send. If, during these troubles 
in the Netherlands, I have done, or permitted aught 
w r hich had a different appearance, it has been with the 
true and good intent to serve God and your Majesty, 
and the necessity of the times. Therefore, I pray your 



58 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



Majesty to forgive me, and to have compassion on my 
poor wife, my children, and my servants; having regard 
to my past services, in which hope I now commend my- 
self to the mercy of God, — Beady to die. From 
Bruxelles, this 5th of June, 1568. Your Majesty s s 
very humble and loyal vassal and servant, Lamoral 
D'Egmont.' " 

During the night he cut the collar from his coat and 
doublet, that his person might not be profaned by the 
executioner's touch. 

Count Horn received, in another part of the same 
building, the announcement of his sentence with perfect 
composure, and spent the night with his confessor. 

In the centre of the square, where Egmont had often 
been crowned victor in the tournament, and where his gal- 
lant bearing, handsome face, and noble name have been the 
theme of admiration, stood the scaffold, from whence, for 
the last time, he was to gaze upon his fellow-countrymen, 
no longer smiling approval, but sorrowing, indignant at 
the fate of their beloved leader, inly vowing a revenge 
that was well carried out. The scaffold was covered with 
black cloth, two velvet cushions, also black, for kneeling, 
two iron spikes, destined to receive the devoted heads, a 
small table bearing a silver crucifix, and two coffins be- 
hind completed the furniture of this gloomy erection. 
The executioner, according to the custom of those times, 
was concealed behind the draperies. Close under 
the scaffold, on horseback, sat the Provost Marshal 
Selle, himself hanged later, while 3000 Spanish troops, 
drawn up in battle array, guarded the Place and 



BRUXELLES. 



59 



scaffold. At 11 o'clock a troop of soldiers, led by 
Julio Eomero and Salinas, entered Egmont's chamber. 
They found him quite ready. Walking proudly, with 
head erect and calm eye, unshaken by the haggard sor- 
row of the spectators, he crossed the short space 
between the Broodhuys and the scaffold, reciting 
aloud the 51st Psalm. " Hear my cry, God, and give 
ear unto my prayer. Thou wilt prolong the King's 

life, and his years as many generations " 

He then ascended the scaffold. Taking the badge of 
the Golden Fleece from his neck, he knelt, and repeated 
aloud the Lord's Prayer, at the termination of which 
the Prelate pronounced a blessing upon him, and held 
the image of Christ to his lips. Egmont then rose, 
threw aside his hat and cloak, and drawing a cap oyer 
his eyes, once more knelt, uttering in a loud, clear voice, 
"Lord, into Thy hands I commend my soul." One 
single blow, one flash of the bright steel, and the fine 
head that had so often been the theme of ballad and 
song, was laid low. Tears were upon every face. Had 
it not been for the superior force of Spanish troops on 
the spot, the Duke of Alva, who was a spectator from 
an opposite house, would have rued the day. Merely 
pausing to throw a black cloth over the remains, Count 
Horn was brought forth to the same spot. Calm and 
unmoved he looked on the black heap, and asked if it 
were the body of his friend and companion in arms ? 
Being answered in the affirmative, he turned slightly 
aside, thus catching sight of his reversed escutcheon. 
At this indignity, he loudly expressed himself insulted. 



60 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

After praying for awhile with the Bishop of Ypres, he 
in his turn drew a cap over his eyes, and submitted his 
head to the executioner's sword. Their heads were 
fixed on the iron spikes, and there left, while the grey 
shadows cast by the beautiful tower above deepened 
and lengthened as the hours passed away. Finally 
they were placed in a box and sent to Madrid, that the 
King might have the satisfaction of looking his dead 
enemies in the face ! The bodies were removed in the 
coffins for interment. 

Few, perhaps, while gazing round this fine old Place, 
and enjoying the beauty of the Hotel de Ville, tho- 
roughly realize the terrible tragedy amongst so many 
others Hhat mark this one spot in Bruxelles. In front 
of the Broodhuys is erected a bronze group of the two 
nobles, marking the very stones that received their 
blood, — blood which was carefully soaked up on cloths 
and handkerchiefs that it might be preserved as a me- 
morial of the hated Spaniards, and an incentive to 
revenge. Thus ended the lives of two gallant men, 
daring leaders, who had done good service for their 
country. Egmont, the hero of many brilliant victories 
in Picardy, and at the battle of Gravelines, later still 
the conqueror at the battle of St. Quentin, when he 
with Horn vanquished the proudest of France's chivalry 
and oldest soldiers, — his very name had become a war- 
cry, " Egmont and St. Quentin." 

Driving to the fashionable 66 Bois," one passes low 
down on the left a group of buildings, now, I believe, 
turned into alms-houses ; here it was that the widowed 



BRUXELLES. 



61 



Countess of Egmont, with her eleven children, sought 
shelter after her husband's death, a shelter afforded her 
by a religious community then there. All his property 
and estates were confiscated, and his family reduced to 
poverty. 

The clear head of the Prince of Orange served him 
well, for, suspecting treachery, he left the city prior to 
the arrest of his friends. Hoogstratten, fortunately for 
himself, had been detained before reaching Bruxelles 
by an accident, thus escaping the fate he was to have 
shared with the others. Hoogstratten died a few 
months later, from a wound in his foot wdiich he acci- 
dentally inflicted on himself after the battle against 
the Spaniards near the river Geta. Bakkerzeel, the 
private secretary of Egmont, had been taken prisoner 
with La Loo and Van Stratten, the Burgomaster of 
Antwerp, an influential man, and one long doomed 
by Alva. These three men were so broken on the 
rack, in the endeavour by torture to get them to 
inculpate the Counts during their agony (which, how- 
ever, failed), that when condemned at last to death 
they had to be carried to the scaffold, and bound in 
chairs, to enable the executioner to accomplish his work. 

From the remembrance of these tragedies we were 
glad to turn to other objects of interest. Beside the 
church of St. Gudule, there are several deserving visits. 
" Notre Dame des Victoires," or the Sablon, has some 
good pictures and sculptures. But in the Museum are 
paintings to be found by masters not often met with, 
besides those of Kubens, Crayer, Jordaens, Otto Venius, 



62 



A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



Vandyke, Holbein, Beinbrandt, Gerard Dow, Bergliem, 
Breughels, Francis de Briendt, and others. Amongst 
those by Bubens, is the ' Martyrdom of St. Leivin,' a 
most painful picture. He has so exaggerated the horror 
of the scene, that it has become repulsive. It is delight- 
ful to turn from it to one, amongst the twelve or more 
of his in this gallery, which compensates by its sweet- 
ness for the last. I speak of his 6 Virgin Crowned,' 
with angelic groups, such as he could paint. Amongst 
the Vandykes there is a 6 Martyrdom of St. Peter ' 
vigorously painted, and without any of the unnecessary 
horror that pervades that of St. Leivin. A ' St. Francis 
in Ecstasy before the Cross ' is another beautiful pic- 
ture of his. A series of fine paintings from the brush 
of Philip de Champaigne and Otto Venius, besides 
numberless others, would repay one for several visits. 
Amongst the works by older masters, of which there is a 
goodly number, one by Nicolas Maes, ' An Old Woman 
Reading,' is admirable. 

The collection of the Duke D'Aremberg, although 
not very large, is very precious in numbering many 
beautiful pictures by rare names. Aart and Eglan Van 
de Neer, Frances Hals, Nicolas Maes, and Koninck, a 
landscape painter. A beautiful Paul Potter, c The Best 
near the Barn/ is full of luminous light, harmony, and 
repose. There are some good Gerard Ostades and Wou- 
vermans, and the portrait of a woman, by Martin Pepyn, 
that must not be passed over ; indeed there are studies 
here one cannot see elsewhere, and one regrets to find 
no catalogue. It is too fine a collection to be without 



BRUXELLES. 



63 



one, however intelligent (and he is so) be the attendant 
who shows them. There is also a very interesting 
portrait of the Queen Marie Antoinette, by Kokarski, 
who, seeing the unfortunate Queen twice in the Chapel 
of the Temple after the Kings death, painted her as 
she then was, and in the dress she wore until herself 
executed. It is a picture full of sad interest. 

There is an annual exhibition of modern artists in 
Bruxelles, and they certainly keep true to the teaching 
of their old predecessors. The modern Belgian School 
is becoming a very fine one; it has lost from its 
ranks this year one who leaves a great blank, Baron 
Leys, whose pictures we had learnt in England 
to admire and understand. Some others are getting 
known to us through the annual French, Belgian, and 
German Exhibition opened in London. Amongst these, 
G-allait, Stevens, Verbockhoven, Claeys, Eobbe, Carrot, 
Willems, Brackelen, Porteals, are familiar, but we would 
fain see many more who deserve notice. 

There are many very good private collections in 
Bruxelles, and to Monsieur Van Praet are we especially 
indebted for a morning's pleasure. He possesses a 
beautiful collection of modern pictures, chosen with 
great taste and judgment. Baron Goethals has a 
charming selection ; to him also do we owe our thanks. 

Bruxelles gave the following names to the world of 
art as far back as the fifteenth century : Bernard Van 
Orley, Eogier, Van de Weyden, or Weide ; in the 
sixteenth century, Bemigins, Bhemi ; and in the follow- 
ing, the brothers Pierre and Jean Brughel, the one 



64 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

called Brughel of "Hell," and the other of "Velvet;"* 
F. Boudewynes, Pierre Bout, A. Mitjens the younger, 
Philip de Champaigne, Van Croesbeke, Van der Meulen, 
V. Janssens, Van Tilborgh, Van Artois, and Luc 
Achtschilling. 

According to many we shall have appeared to omit 
one very important visit, namely, that to the field ' of 
Waterloo, but not being soldiers, we felt persuaded we 
should come away very little wiser than we went, so 
we rested satisfied with the knowledge that Waterloo is 
a great fact that cannot be disputed. 

We were particularly struck with the orderly aspect 
of the people in the Belgian towns ; the greater number 
look comfortable and well-to-do. Poverty of course 
there must be, for are we not told " the poor are never 
to cease out of the land but there is not that ragged 
squalor one meets with in London, or that terrible 
amount of drunkenness, the fearful incentive to so much 
of the crime in our country. The women wear clean 
white caps, and are neat in their homely dresses, the 
workman in his blouse, while thickly sprinkled about is 
the smart soldier and his dandy officer. The people 
differ much in appearance and manner from their 
neighbours the French ; they are fairer in complexion 
and hair, they are less garrulous, and you miss much of 
the gesticulation and animation that characterize the 
latter. Industrious and orderly, well fitted to retain 

* Jean Brughel was called " of Hell " because he chose subjects in 
which he could depict lurid effects, such as the infernal regions, fires, 
sieges, &c. His brother " of Velvet/' the cleverest of the two, was an 
exquisite landscape painter. 



BRUXELLES. 



G5 



the little kingdom they fought so hard to wrench off 
from Holland, and which prospers so well. May it long 
be left unmolested, is the earnest wish of those who 
carry away from it the remembrance of much pleasure. 

From Antwerp to Moerdyck we travelled by train 
through a monotonously flat sandy country, above which 
rose here and there long lines of dams, until the frontier 
at Eoosendaal was reached. Here we were desired to 
leave the carriages, and were conducted through two 
rooms. In the first the lusT^a^e and all we carried 
underwent examination by the custom-house officers, who 
deal with one much according to the humour they may 
be in. Fortunately for the length of our detention they 
were in good humour, or perhaps the passengers not 
deemed suspicious characters. After being duly chalked 
in evidence of having undergone examination, we passed 
into the second room. Here refreshments were awaiting 
us. The room was small, with a sanded floor. On one 
side, a table with a collection of cakes and biscuits, that 
had evident attractions for the flies, if not for us. 
These, with wedges of Dutch cheese and other eatables, 
offered themselves in a not over - inviting manner. 
Beer was flowing on all sides, and the closed doors and 
windows effectually confined the pungent vapour exhaled 
from all the pipes and cigars working in full vigour 
round us. This and the hot sun pouring in, from which 
it was impossible to escape in such a crowd, rendered 
the room almost unbearable. Observing that one of 
the officials while passing out had omitted to fasten the 
door, my companions and myself quietly but quickly 



66 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

availed ourselves of the oversight, and slipped out on to 
the platform, much to the indignation of the official, 
who first desired us to return, an order we declined 
attending to, and then double-locked the door to pre- 
vent any further escapes. He then again tried what 
he could do to persuade us, but finding us obdurate 
shrugged his shoulders, and we detected a covert smile 
as he left us standing in the cool shade. Meanwhile 
there was a busy hunt for contraband goods or books 
throughout the long line of carriages. Cushions turned 
over, mats lifted, and pockets ransacked, but nothing 
was found save two copies of the 4 Lanterne,' which were 
handed over to the man who had so vainly remonstrated 
with us. Upon being assured this was all found, he 
came towards us ; and now that there was no need for 
sustaining his official character, he with a bow gave us 
leave to resume our seats, and even assisted us in. 
The remaining passengers were then released and 
allowed to scramble back into their several compart- 
ments. 

We were not sorry when we arrived alongside the 
steamer moored to the quay of the short canal flowing 
into the "Hollandisch diep," a wide reach of the 
river Meuse, whose waters are swelled by those of the 
Waal, one of the widest branches of the four the Ehine 
divides itself into, while passing through Holland. In 
winter, as these rivers are impassable from the ice, 
travellers take another route by land. The water of 
the Ehine brings with it the colour of all streams rising 
in the Alps, and renders the Meuse grey and turbid 



BRUXELLES. 



67 



until it nears the sea. The Meuse, rising in France, 
takes her course through the forest of Ardennes, passing 
Namur and Liege, and then flowing through the heathy 
country of Cleves and the province of Nimegue, having 
thrown off a branch near Gertruydenberg, named the 
Oude Maas, or old Meuse, finally unites with the 
Ehine. Many small islets occur here. Both these 
rivers have innumerable branches, called by various 
names. On first entering the Hollandisch diep, you 
see but a broad expanse of water, while in the dis- 
tance is all that remains of the land, lost with its 
villages and inhabitants in 1421, when the remorseless 
stream breaking through dam and dyke, carried ruin 
and death into a rich, prosperous country. Nothing 
now is visible of the " Verdronkenen land/' drowned 
land, but a confused archipelago of sand-bank and osier- 
beds, named the " Biesbosch " or " Eeed wood." Here 
and there a small patch of meadow land, the rank grass 
and wild flowers of which are absolutely floating during 
the high tide on the surface of the river. Poor crops of 
hay are cut off these plots during the ebb tide, but no 
habitation is left. It is a terrible illustration of the 
power of that enemy the patient Hollanders have to 
contend with. 

Fearful inundations have ever been frequent in Hol- 
land, but as yet have never dismayed the sturdy men 
who from the earliest dates in the history of the country 
have battled with them. The later of these calamities 
occurred, one as above-mentioned in 1421, another in 
1470, during which 20,000 people were destroyed. 

f 2 



68 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



The year 1570 witnessed a similar catastrophe ; this 
was more complete and disastrous than the memorable 
one that created the Zuyder Zee, or swept over the vil- 
lages of Groningen. The waves of the Atlantic, driven 
by a series of violent north-west gales into the North 
Sea, burst the dykes in every direction, and the whole 
coast from Flanders to Friesland was one chaos of land 
and water. Far inland towns were suddenly invaded by 
the ocean. The great dyke between Amsterdam and 
Diemar gave way in many places. Another bulwark 
called the " Hand-bos," " formed of oaken piles, fastened 
with metal clamps, moored with iron anchors and 
secured by gravel and granite, was snapped to pieces 
like pack-thread. Dort and Rotterdam, with many 
other cities, were for a time almost submerged. Along 
the coast, fishing vessels and even ships of larger size 
were floated up into the country ; they entangled them- 
selves in groves and orchards, or beat to pieces the roofs 
and walls of houses. In Friesland the calamity was 
even greater. Thousands were drowned, and whole 
districts engulfed. " The graveyards gave up their 
dead. The living infant in his cradle and the long- 
buried corpse in his coffin floated side by side." 

A centurv later the water rose eight feet higher than 
the embankments. When one remembers how flat, and 
little above the water level, all this land rises, one can 
well understand the disastrous effect of any sudden 
overflowing. The inundation of 1717 was more terrible 
than any of the preceding, the loss of life horrible to 
think of, while nearly 100,000 head of cattle, horses 



BRUXELLES. 



69 



and sheep included, were destroyed. 1825 again saw 
the loosened waters whirling in fierce career over the 
country. The sudden melting of the ice in the rivers 
ensures an uprising of several feet, which hardly ever 
fails to cause misery. The best constructed dykes, and 
the skill of those who watch them, are of no avail at 
6uch times. For awhile the water rules supreme, but 
inch by inch it is fought back, until in many instances 
more land has been reclaimed than was lost. The 
actual seaboard is not the only part exposed. Certain 
winds force the sea up the many narrow branches of the 
Rhine and Meuse, increasing their bulk and causing 
them to break their bounds. 

As we proceeded farther up the river we passed strips 
of land with a solitary house or two raised on piles, 
the soil appearing to us to be but two or three feet 
above the wash of the stream. The channels between 
these were deep ; large ships continually passed through 
them, and above the cottages might be seen tall masts 
tapering into the sky ; or we could watch the white sails 
emerge from behind a clump of low-growing willows, 
which, as the light wind swept up their branches, 
turned outwards the silver lining of their leaves. The 
mainland is equally depressed, dotted here and there 
at rare intervals with villages and a few trees ; beyond 
this a wide extent of green pastures, with innumerable 
windmills alone cutting the line of the horizon. The 
lowing of the oxen came over the water and fell 
dreamily on the ear. Nearing Dort or Dordtrecht, vil- 
lages became more frequent, with saw-yards and boat- 



70 



A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



building stations. In front of these we slackened 
speed, to receive on board from some little row-boat 
that was quietly resting on its oars awaiting our ap- 
proach, a passenger or two, in most cases giving the 
boat a freight in return. Windmills of every size and 
description were seen and turned to various uses : 
sawing wood, crushing the oil out of seed, grinding 
snuff, beating hemp, grinding corn ; and in some cases 
draining the land, in others irrigating it. Some are 
quite dwarfed, resembling almost a child's plaything; 
these no doubt had their tasks, for they worked away 
as vigorously as their taller brethren. In gar lens 
these smaller windmills are used for pumping up water 
and irrigating flower or vegetable beds. The shape of 
the sails and spokes are different to those seen in Eng- 
land, and resemble the long limbs of a spider. They 
never appear to rest. So lightly are they constructed 
that the slightest breath of air suffices to set them in 
motion. Rising above the otherwise monotonous land- 
scape, they relieve the eye. They are also very varied 
in form. Some stand alone, others attached to build- 
ings or ship-yards. Now and then you will see one 
crowning a neat red-brick dwelling-house, with fruit- 
trees trained against the wall, their boughs traced in 
blossom. Many are thatched all over down to their 
base with a dark, highly-polished rush that glitters 
under the sunlight as if it were a suit of bronze 
armour. 

Several of the passengers we received carried with 
them, stretched on a light framework of wood, a large 



BRUXELLES. 



71 



flat fish, split, salted, and smoked. They were not 
pleasant additions to our crowded boat, although doubt- 
less, by the care taken of them and the fact that their 
bearers were smartly dressed as if on holiday bent, they 
were considered great delicacies, and in these instances 
were destined for friends. The passengers became so 
numerous that we found some difficulty in obtaining 
seats. The two most conspicuous groups were, the one, 
a troupe of second-rate Italian Opera singers, making a 
tour of the principal towns in Belgium and Holland ; 
and the other a noisy, self-asserting party of English 
women, numbering ten or twelve ; such English as one 
too often feels ashamed of abroad. The elders were 
loud, fussy, important, and vulgar. The younger, gig- 
gling and restless, challenging the observation and atten- 
tion of any man who chanced to pass them. Amongst 
the Italians sat a good-looking dark man, with one of 
those sweetly-modulated voices one meets with among 
men of that nation. He held by a chain a handsome 
English pointer, and was constantly addressing the 
animal in broken English, evidently for the benefit of 
one of the " vulgar party," a handsome girl, with bold 
blue eyes, and splendid teeth which she had no idea of 
concealing behind her full red lips. It was not long 
before the dog came within caressing reach of " La 
Signorina Inglese," and " dear dog," " sweet dog," was 
soon responded to by his owner, to the ill-concealed 
indignation of one of the " troupe," a gaunt, sallow, 
fierce-eyed woman, who resented the withdrawal of 
attentions she had before been receiving. 



72 A FEW DAYS EN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



Exactly opposite to us was seated a thorough type of 
the Dutchman ; he might have been cut out of a block 
of wood, so stolid and still was he there, smoking his 
pipe. Broad shouldered, thick necked, short legged, 
with a square head and massive jaw, he sat looking 
straight our before him, heedless of all the noise and 
bustle, perfectly immovable and expressionless ; not 
even to be roused when a thin, eagcr-taced man, with a 
Jewish cast of countenance, came on to the bench at his 
side, and began energetically recounting in guttural 
Dutch something that at all events to him seemed full 
of interest. Indeed so inanimate did his listener 
appear, that had it not been for an occasional nod of 
assent, or a few words that issued from almost closed 
lip-, evidently obliging the other to repeat something 
over a second time, you would have believed him in a 
trance. The smoke from his pipe rolled up at regular 
intervals, and did not even cease during the process of 
renewal, for his broad hand came out of the pocket 
charged with tobacco, and the pipe never quitted the 
lips of the smoker. He could not have consumed less 
than a dozen pipes between Moerdyck and Dordtrecht. 
As for his companion, he must have got through double 
that number of cigars, for as the fire dwindled them at 
one end. he literally eat them up at the other. I never 
saw anything so revulsive as the manner in which he mas- 
ticated a cigar in his feverish eagerness — an eagerness 
that pervaded every action, and was such a forcible con- 
trast to his companion. The greater number of the men 
we took on board were of the same build and appear- 



BRUXELLES. 



73 



ance as our silent friend, albeit younger. Determined 
jaws, faces showing little or no variety of expression. 
Slow but strong in their movements, one would imagine 
them not easily interested or roused, but as you looked 
more into their faces you could not help feeling "woe 
betide the man " who did thoroughly rouse one of these 
natures. Such men are well placed in a country like 
Holland. They are fit for that patient, never-ceasing 
resistance it is their fate to carry on against the hungry 
waters, ever seeking for prey. Never daunted, brave 
and bold, they are worthy of the land they gain foot 
by foot daily, hourly, by their energy. I could not 
help thinking of these men's sturdy ancestors, the 
hardy sons of the " Zuyder Zee," the dreaded " Beggars 
of the Sea," the implacable enemies of tyrannical 
Spain, and later the dreaded "Dutchman," with his 
broom secured to the mast-head, sweeping the seas. We 
were left in quiet possession of the deck during the 
table d'hote, only disturbed by the passing and repassing 
of the steward and assistant with greasy dishes, on their 
way to the cabin. 

As we neared Dordtrecht, the little wind there had 
been fell, and the river became quite calm. Some- 
times we steamed slowly through a long reach of 
smooth water, with nothing to ripple its surface but the 
low, lazy flight of a red-legged stork, intent on obtain- 
ing his dinner, and shifting from one belt of reeds to 
another, leaving a little ripple to mark his course as 
his trailing legs touched the water. In the east the 
sky was gradually changing from blue to opal, for the 



74 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

sun was slowly drawing to the end of his daily task, 
when we stopped at the low wooden pier of Dordtrecht, 
a busy, bustling, half-submerged town, many of the 
streets paved with wood, intersected in every direction 
by canals, sluices, locks, and small harbours, or basins, 
in which sailed and anchored large three-masted ships, 
their top-masts level with, and in some instances rising 
above the roofs of the houses. Crowds were on the pier 
watching the arrival of the different steamers. High 
embankments and dykes are raised to keep out the 
waters, but there are seasons when, notwithstanding 
these, the streets are flooded ; and many of the store- 
houses and even dwellings are built on wooden stages 
to allow the stream to flow beneath. " Dordtrecht," or 
Dort, was known anterior to the eleventh century by 
the name of " Thurdrecht." It originally formed part 
of the mainland of Holland, but in the disastrous inun- 
dations of 1421, all the tract of country that once sur- 
rounded it was lost. On the cessation of the flood, 
Dordtrecht still stood, but on an island ; nothing more 
was ever seen of the fertile pastures, the villages, or 
their occupants. The waters had closed over them for 
ever; it was a second deluge. Navigable close up to 
its houses by large vessels, and forming the centre of a 
rich commercial district, ships from all parts meet here. 
Like Rotterdam, it is built entirely upon piles driven 
into the marshy soil. Many of the houses have their 
foundations in the water, and their windows are fitted 
with cranes for the convenience of getting in their 
stores, or raising water for domestic use. This quaint 



BRUXELLES. 



75 



old town was one of the first in Holland that could 
boast of independent spirits, early in the ranks of those 
who threw off the hated Spanish yoke. It is also 
known in history as giving its name to the assembly 
of disputing theologians held in 1619. I allude to the 
" Synod of Dort." The house in which this assembly 
was held is still preserved, and is found in one of the 
old streets, and known by the name of the Kloveniers- 
doelen. Here were born several of the famous painters 
whose works we saw at the different galleries we visited. 
The two Cuyps, Samuel Van Hoogstratten, N. Maes, 
Godfred Schalken, Ferdinand Bol, Gr. Van de Leuw, 
Aart de Gelder, Abraham Van Stry, Tiebout Eegters, 
A. Menlemans, and the well-known master of modern 
times, Ary Scheffer. 

We passed Albasserdam, situated on the river's edge. 
This is one of the large ship-building yards, of which 
there are several ; it was crowded with busy workmen, 
and many very large vessels were on the stocks in dif- 
ferent stages of completion. A little beyond occurs the 
junction of the Leek, another branch of the Ehine, 
flowing in from Duurstede. An island here divides 
the stream, and nearly facing it stands a large chateau, 
flanked by four square towers, the first building of any 
importance we had yet seen with the exception of those 
at Dordtrecht. On approaching Eotterdam they be- 
came more frequent, and some very pretty villas and 
country seats situated in the midst of plantations or 
terraced ornamental gardens. A very forest of masts 
seemed to bar our further passage, but we steamed 



76 



A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



slowly through them. The day was fast declining ; on 
one side, although the moon had not yet risen, her 
influence was gradually becoming evident in a soft 
gleam spreading upwards heralding her approach, 
while in the west clouds of every hue and shade burnt 
in the golden light of the sun that had just dropped 
below the horizon. 

Farther down the Meuse where it draws near the 
North Sea, is situated the little island of Voorne, 
famous for its defence by La Marck against the troops 
sent by Alva to destroy it. The sluices were de- 
stroyed single-handed by one of the besieged (a stra- 
tagem often made use of by the Hollanders during 
their frequent wars), and but few of the Spaniards 
escaped over the submerged country. Here is also the 
fortified town of Brielle or Brille. 

Upon this side of Holland the Dutch, who had sought 
shelter from Spanish tyranny on the opposite coasts of 
England, made frequent raids. At last Elizabeth, at 
the request of Spain, expelled them from her ports. 
Mustering a small fleet, they placed themselves under 
the command of Guilliaume de Bois, whose father had 
been executed by order of Alva, and the bold Admiral 
de la Marck, cousin of Egmont, and son of the famous 
" Boar of Ardennes." On just such another April day 
as the one we were enjoying, three centuries ago the 
white sails of William de la Marck's little squadron 
came in sight from the North Sea. The panic created 
by the appearance of the dreaded " Gueux de Mer " 
struck home, and before the two hours given by him 



ROTTERDAM. 



77 



to the inhabitants to surrender had elapsed, the greater 
number fled, and the Government of Alva so threatened 
that the unfortunate burghers of Bruxelles, who were 
awaiting their fate, had a reprieve from the hangman's 
hands ; albeit it was too late to save the heads of 
Egmont and Horn. 



ROTTERDAM. 



Night had quite set in by the time w 7 e collected our 
luggage, &c, and we found ourselves driving through 
the crowds on the quay. The streets were full of busy 
traffic, while in the canals and docks ships floated 
silently on the water, showing here and there a gleam- 
ing red spot of light from a cabin, which was repeated 
in elongated trembling reflexions. We crossed many 
handsome bridges on our w T ay to the hotel, most of them 
so constructed that they rise or fall back from the centre 
to allow the passage of large craft into the very heart of 
the city. Looking from the window of the hotel a few 
hours later, the prospect would have charmed Rem- 
brandt. The street is somewhat narrow, and the houses 
on either side are very high. No lamps or lights with 
the exception of those attached to a row of movable 
market stalls that lined the centre of the street. .These 
shed a bright glowing light upon the immediate crowd 
that was continually passing, but reached no farther. At 
the end of the street the square tower of the Cathedral 



78 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

rose sharply articulated against the deep-blue sky under 
the effect of clear moonlight. Lower down, an opening 
allowed the uninterrupted entrance of the rays, which 
after falling in a silvery patch on the ground, crept half- 
way up the opposite buildings, beautifying every salient 
point they touched, and leaving the shadows deeper 
by the contrast. After the brilliantly-lighted streets 
of other capitals, the sombre aspect of that at Rotterdam 
remains one of those little pictures one likes to recall. 

The attraction of Rotterdam is its evident commer- 
cial prosperity, its wonderful system of canals, dams, 
embankments, locks, and basins ; in the marvellous 
manner the swampy land is reclaimed from the water, 
and a city built, and still building, each house stand- 
ing upon piles driven fifteen and seventeen feet into 
the ground. Many of the streets are bordered with 
rows of trees, overhanging the canal in the centre. 
Houses in the older parts of the town present themselves 
to your eye at every known angle. Some are found in- 
clining backwards, and others with only an upper story 
nodding to its neighbour. The decay of the piles, or 
the settling of the soil, occasions this tumble-down 
appearance which one meets with in all the Dutch 
towns. A slight tidal rise and fall occurs in the canals, 
tending somewhat to their purification, which one can 
believe is only superficial. The flow is so slight that 
it cannot touch the deepest part, where rests the 
accumulation of impurities necessarily received into 
them. Steam is employed here, as well as at Amster- 
dam and the Hague, to promote a brisker circulation ; 



ROTTERDAM. 



79 



but the narrower canals give forth exhalations that 
forbid one's believing in the perfect success of the 
system. The largest street is the " Hoogstraat," erected 
upon a dyke ; that with another, which has also its 
street, namely the " Schiedamsche dyke," are the two 
great embankments protecting the city against inun- 
dation. The " Hoogstraat " divides the old from the 
new town. The old quarter goes by the name of 
Binnenstad. Here the streets are narrower and more 
winding, the canals and quays more cramped ; but 
none the less full of life, and far more Dutch in their 
general aspect than the newer quarters. Its popula- 
tion, if one is to judge from the quantities one sees 
of it, are great consumers of salt fish ; the atmosphere 
is pervaded with it. 

From the Hoogstraat to the Boompjes quay is the 
modern portion of the city. The houses are very 
handsome, and those on the quay facing the water 
reminded us much of those surrounding Hyde Park. 
These are the dwellings of the wealthy merchants, 
and no stores or warehouses are found just there. 
Many of the best streets are old canals filled up. 
The finest side of Eotterdam is but recently reclaimed 
from the water, within the last fifteen, ten, and two 
years. This work is still going on; a large lake is 
now being drained, and will ere many years have 
elapsed become squares and streets. On every side 
you see the war waged by the Hollander against his 
remorseless enemy, which he succeeds in keeping at 
bay at the cost annually of millions of florins. In 



80 A FEW DATS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



the winter large blocks of ice — small icebergs they 
may be called — haye to be dreaded, as well as the 
storms and high tides. Men are posted along the 
dykes and embankments day and night, watching. 
They are under the orders of a special corps of engi- 
neers, the " Waterstaat." These have the care also of 
the sluices, locks, &c. Labourers are kept at different 
stations ready for any emergency, or the appearance of 
the slightest flaw in the works. The sea dykes descend 
very deep, some two hundred feet, and are constantly 
over one hundred feet in width : the foundation, clay 
and solid blocks of granite. They do not rise straight, 
but have an incline towards the land, so that the waves 
expend much of their strength in running up the in- 
clined plane ; others are variously constructed accord- 
ing to their positions, some merely fascines or strong 
posts filled in with puddled clay and sand, and covered 
with the sand and earth ; occasionally these are faced 
with cement or bricks ; again, others are merely formed 
of osiers, plaited like basket-work, also filled with clay 
and sand. The osier-work of these has to be renewed 
every three or four years. Every man possessing 
property close to the water pays a special tax for the 
maintenance of these important works. The Dutch 
not only grow great quantities of willow for the purpose 
above named, but they further strengthen the banks by 
planting on them such creeping reeds and sand plants 
as will, with their ramifying roots, bind the soil 
together ; the sand or sea holly, " Eryngo rnaritimum," 
and different tribes of the creeping " Arenaria." 



ROTTERDAM. 



81 



Nothing can give a better idea of the indomitable per- 
severance and patience of these people, aided by the 
skill of their engineers, than these works. They must 
be full of interest to an engineer. There is an obsti- 
nate struggle for ever going on to the gain of the 
Dutchman, who may well boast that he dictates a limit 
to the sea. That element itself, with the winds, aid 
him by causing vast accumulations of sand under their 
combined influence. These are again made available as 
fortifications against the further progress of their first 
mover. The long lines of dykes give an arid aspect 
to the country on the seaboard. Those erected inland 
are the highest and broadest: roads are carried over 
them. Again is an embankment forming a canal to 
be seen several feet above the surrounding country, so 
that literally the water is above the land ; and look- 
ing up from a field you see a barge sailing fifteen feet 
above your level. What must be the consequence of 
any yielding of such an embankment ? Is it surprising 
that, notwithstanding all the care bestowed, there 
should occur at times terrible disasters ? The element 
that hourly threatens the land is, by the skill of its 
inhabitants, turned into their slave, and made to carry 
to their very doors the treasures it has borne them 
from every quarter of the globe. Large ships glide 
up and cast anchor under the very windows of the 
splendid houses their owners dwell in. The little barge, 
drawn by the aided efforts of a man and his dog, 
receives or. unloads its cargo at the door-step of his cot- 
tage on the edge of the canal. 

A walk through the animated town and along the 

G 



82 



A FEW DAYS IX BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



quays, crowded with every class, is an amusing sight. 
Carts and sledges are loading and unloading bales of 
cotton, timber, skins, bones, salt fish, casks of sugar 
and spirits, bars of iron, forage, coals, pottery, and more 
delicate miscellaneous merchandise, which is piled 
ready for removal. The creaking of cranks, the shouting 
of sailors and their monotonous chant, as they raised 
heavy loads from the deep holds of the ships, grated on 
our ears on all sides, while we were hustled and jostled 
by men speaking every language known under the sun. 
We had to pause at one of the bridges, slowly swinging 
back to allow the entrance of a large ship into the 
inner basin. It had evidently just returned from Java, 
or one of the prosperous well-governed colonies owned 
by the Dutch. As it was slowly warped past us, we 
had time to observe many black faces amongst the 
groups of sailors lounging over the bulwarks, exchang- 
ing greetings with those alongside. The captain, his 
head shaded by a broad-brimmed straw hat, stood 
watching the vessel's progress from under an awning 
that had been spread to protect large bunches of 
tropical fruits and vegetables from the sun. Two 
brown monkeys huddled together on the crosstrees, 
looked inquisitively clown on the spectators, while the 
shrill screaming of parrots told of more live freight 
than the two animals, whose faces, in their eager 
curiosity, were terribly human. 

The costume of the women of Eotterdam is rendered 
peculiar by their strange and varied head-dresses. 
Some of the caps fall low down over their shoulders 



ROTTERDAM. 



83 



like veils ; others, again, are turned up at the sides, 
reminding one of the head-dresses of the fifteenth 
century, while all are profusely ornamented with gold 
bands, bosses, or plates resting on the temples, and 
crossing the forehead; again, gold spiral wire horns, 
which stand out from the side of their heads several 
inches. In holiday attire they add to this gold-headed 
pins, which bristle all over the front of the cap. A 
short petticoat, with a different coloured jacket, also 
adds to their picturesque appearance. They are 
strongly, but most symmetrically formed, although 
lacking the grace of slighter figures, well knit, broad 
shouldered, with full round arms and busts, neat ankles 
and feet, which their short petticoats do not conceal ; 
strong and erect in their walk, with heads well 
set, they are good to look upon. You need only 
note the ease with which their well-shaped arms can 
swing a heavy bucket full of water over the basement 
of some house they are cleaning, to understand what 
useful enduring assistants they must have proved to their 
husbands and brothers during the old wars, when they 
did not shrink from helping to repulse the enemy. 

The copper cupola of the Danish church (green 
as malachite from exposure to the elements) is a 
pretty object, amongst the other buildings. The only 
church worth visiting is the " Oude Kerk," or cathedral'; 
it has some handsome characteristic Dutch tombs^ 
erected to the memories of gallant admirals who had 
fought and fallen for their country. Save these, there 
is nothing worthy of note, with the exception of the 

Gr 2 



84 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

organ, reputed to be very fine, and of which, unfor- 
tunately, we heard but a few last notes as we entered ; 
soft modulations dying away amidst the arches. 

" Music, as though the wings 
Of some blind angel were caught amidst the strings." 

The house in which the deeply-read sage of Eotter- 
dam, the elegant scholar and moralist, Erasmus, was 
born, still stands, although now become a drinking 
house. A statue of no beauty or importance, cast in 
bronze, and representing him in his Doctor's robes, 
stands in the Groote Market. This city does not boast 
only of his birth, she can claim the honour of having 
given some good painters to the world of art. 
Francis Verwilt, H. Van Minderhout, Joast Yan Geel, 
M. Van Musscher, E. Van de Poel, Cornelius and 
Herman Saftleven, L. Verschuur, H. Martensey, Zorg, 
Simon de Vlieger, P. Van de Werff, J. Souge, Abraham 
Hondius, and Jan Kobell. 

We were advised not to leave Eotterdam without 
driving out and visiting one of the large cheese farms 
in the neighbourhood ; we therefore started early one 
morning, driving through crowded narrow alleys inter- 
sected with foul, foetid ditches, before we gained the 
open country. Here we began to meet with villas and 
detached country houses, standing a little back from 
the high road, each surrounded by the inevitable ditch, 
replacing the moat of old. Amidst the neatly-trimmed 
plantations and primly-laid-out parterres, there was 
always a pond or ornamental piece of water, spanned 
by a rustic bridge, or with an ornamental summer- 
house in the centre, raised on a platform, and gained 



ROTTERDAM. 



85 



by a boat. These people cannot bear to be separated 
from the water. One man we spoke to who had 
travelled over the whole of Europe, declared nothing 
that he saw, however beautiful, compensated for the 
loss of the canals and ditches. On many of the ponds 
small Chinese pagoda-shaped edifices were erected for 
the ducks and wild fowl ; these, painted in various 
bright colours, gave a very toy-shop appearance to the 
place. Projecting arbours and smoking rooms over- 
hang the ditch canal, where the proprietors can sit and, 
while smoking their pipes, amuse themselves lazily 
watching all that passes. They are aided by mirrors 
so placed that all is reflected back to them without the 
trouble of leaning forward. These mirrors are universal 
all over Holland. The situation chosen for these 
smoking rooms is one that filled us with astonishment, 
so fever-haunted should we consider it, from the exha- 
lations that must rise in the evenings, or under the 
influence of a hot sun. Besides the detached villas, 
there were rows of humbler dwellings, such as one 
might suppose to be inhabited by clerks, or retired 
tradesmen. Each of these had a small bridge spanning 
the water, like those of their wealthier neighbours, 
although not so broad, being only intended for foot 
passengers, and so constructed that they could be 
raised or swung back to the owners' side of the moat, 
thus enabling them to cut off all communication with 
the road. Owing to the ditch completely surrounding 
each house, the isolation becomes complete. Many 
of these bridges were swung back, intimating that 
visitors were not desired ; in short, it was meant as 



86 



A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



" not at home." By the side of these bridges nar- 
rower ones are constructed of withes, or poles, for 
the passing and repassing of the fowls, large enough 
for only one bird at a time. These latter were not 
allowed the privilege of denying themselves to visitors. 
The Dutchman is not very sociable ; he is naturally 
taciturn and reserved, his thoughts concentrated on his 
work, whatever that may be. He is domestic, and 
satisfied with the society of his family, little inclined 
for holidays, save at given times. Of course I do not 
here allude to the tastes of the higher classes — they, 
like those of all large cities, are cosmopolitan — I 
merely speak of the Dutch nationally. They are 
singularly uninquisitive, taking little interest in w^hat 
does not actually concern themselves, their commerce, 
or their country. 

There are strange holidays for the lower classes held 
annually in all the towns. It is the fair called the 
" Kerinissen," or Christmas. Then occurs a general 
gathering of small merchants, mountebanks, shows, 
and musicians, from all parts, such as are ever met 
with at fairs ; but the scene we heard was indescribable 
in its grossness. The " Nachthuizen," or drinking 
houses, open at ten o'clock at night, and close only at 
five in the morning. In the streets at the commence- 
ment of the week rows of young men are to be seen 
awaiting the chance of being hired by the girls not 
fortunate in the possession of an admirer to walk about 
with. If any of the men be fortunate owners of an 
umbrella, they may command a high price, this article 



ROTTERDAM. 



87 



being deemed a great luxury, especially in holiday 
time, when the girls are dressed in their best. No 
servant will work during this week, they claim it as 
their own for amusement. It is the only enjoyment 
they have thought of or care for during the whole year, 
and they will not be denied. Their pleasures are of 
the coarsest description ; dancing, eating and drinking 
all night, until it becomes a perfect Saturnalia, Some 
of the most vulgar of Jean Steen's pictures may give 
some slight idea of the scene. At the end of the week 
these people return to their several occupations con- 
tentedly, and ask for no further holiday until the year 
brings the Kermissen again. 

As we drove through the rich pastures, the noise 
made by the frogs astonished us ; it was difficult to 
believe they alone caused it ; we were told by our 
driver that the time they were most clamorous was at 
night and in wet weather. Endless flat fields stretched 
out before us, everything lay calm and still ; there was 
not a tremor in the tall reeds bordering the road, not 
air enough to ruffle a leaf. A thin white mist was 
slowly rising from the long grass reeking with moisture. 
The breath of the cattle, congealed by the cold arid 
damp, hung from their soft brown muzzles in long 
glittering streamers, as they raised their heads to look 
after us. They are a very handsome breed, rather large 
boned, but with beautifully-formed heads, and generally 
black and white. u Berghem " and " Paul Potter " 
have often put such upon their canvas ; and as we looked 
at them we recognized old friends. Many of the cows 



88 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



had coarse sackc'oth covering their backs and loins, 
securely fastened. These are worn to save them from 
the effects of the piercing winds that sweep over these 
low marshes. Even for the sheep is shelter provided, 
little erections of willows, wattle, and dab. No need 
of shepherd or dog here to keep the flock from straying. 
The water is made to replace these, and the boundaries 
preserved by broad ditches. We saw several storks 
either patiently waiting at the edge of the water for 
some unwary frog, or stalking leisurely down through 
the reeds. They are graceful birds when thus seen in 
a wild state. 

Exactly opposite the gate of the farm we were going 
to visit, we came upon a broad deep pool of clear water, 
overhung with willows, tangled weeds, and the feathery 
plants of the meadow-sweet. Kneeling on a green bank 
beside the stream, washing some clothes, we saw two of 
the daughters of the farmer. A large pile of linen as 
white as snow, fresh from the water, was beside them, 
ready to be carried indoors. It was a pretty sight — the 
water with its reflexions, the flickering light and shade 
playing on the fresh young faces : clumps of marsh 
reeds and late golden flags grew on the bank beside 
them, while just beyond a few large glossy leaves of the 
water lily rose and fell under the miniature waves their 
occupation set in motion, the whole backed by the rich 
green of the meadows dotted with cattle, and a soft grey 
horizon. Not the least pleasing part of the sight were 
the two girls themselves, who rose to greet us ; their 
sleeves rolled up nearly to the shoulder, baring beauti- 



ROTTERDAM. 



89 



fully-rounded arms, while the small heads were tightly 
wound round with coils of glossy hair, neatly fastened 
with two gold pins. Their shapely throats, more exposed 
than usual after the exertion of washing, were clasped 
by several rows of dark garnet beads, held with a broad 
golden clasp. They had pretty soft faces, with fresh 
skins and white teeth. We heard later they were con- 
sidered the belles of the district, as their mother had 
been. 

The mother emerged from the wash-house wiping 
the steamino- suds off arms still firm and well formed. 
Kather stout, but not coarse, her comely face nearly as 
smooth as her daughters, bordered by a flat-edged close- 
fitting cap, her throat also ornamented with rows of 
beads clasped tight ; hers were of deep red coral : a 
short coloured jacket, drawn in at the waist, with a 
bright petticoat, showing neat feet, encased in grey 
worsted stockings, for she had left her shoes aside prior 
to entering the parlour. Ushering us in, with what we 
understood to be kindly words of welcome, she ordered 
in a jug of fresh milk. After having duly drank the 
quantity she deemed sufficient — more than we really 
felt inclined to take — she led us to the dairy, pointing 
out for our admiration a double row of handsome brass 
and copper ewers, burnished to a degree of brightness 
that dazzled. Some of the forms of these ewers w^ere 
very graceful, of all sizes, the tallest three feet; the 
body of the vessel of brass, hooped with bands of cop- 
per, the contrast of the tw r o metals being very good. 
They must have been very old, as nothing so handsome 



90 



A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



or solid is made in the present day. She was justly 
proud of them. I understood from the few words I could 
catch here and there, such as " vaader," mingled with 
" hondrecl jaar," that she meant they were heirlooms, 
descended from father to son. We were shown the 
process of cheese making from the very first, beginning 
with the milk and ending with the press. These cheeses 
are sent all over the world, and there is great demand 
for them. All the farms round Rotterdam are more or 
less cheese farms. As we found some difficulty in 
getting our questions understood, a third daughter was 
sent for, who had passed a few months in England. 
She gave us no opportunity of judging how she spoke 
our language, for every allusion to the question sum- 
moned up such a series of blushes that we did not like 
to press her, but that she understood us was evident, and 
better still, she made others understand. After seeing 
all the mother could show us, the father was brought 
in. We accompanied him to one of the out-buildings, 
containing about forty or fifty animals, equally divided 
on either side of a narrow stone pavement, just wide 
enough for one person at a time. All the cattle were 
lying down. I know not if this were compulsory. 
The heat in the interior was very great ; the warmth 
and moisture from the breaths of the poor animals 
appeared to have no exit save through the door by 
which we entered. The overpowering odour of the 
grains, upon which they are fed, was sickening to those 
unaccustomed to it. My companions, after the first few 
steps, refused to bear me company, but I did not like to 



ROTTERDAM. 



91 



show my reluctance, fearing to wound the worthy man, 
who was evidently anxious we should enjoy our visit. 
The narrow passage was so greasy from the moisture, 
that it was with difficulty I kept my footing, expecting 
every moment io slip, with the certainty of becoming 
impaled upon the large horns that nearly touched me 
on either side. I was not sorry when I found myself 
out again in the fresh air, and the gratified pride of 
the old man quite repaid me for the temporary dis- 
comfort, although I declined any mure visits to the 
numerous buildings of the same nature. This farmer 
is one of the largest importers of cattle in that neigh- 
bourhood, and the day before we called he had shipped 
off a great number to England. His daughters have 
the double advantage of wealth and beauty. 

Before leaving we were taken into the parlour, or 
best room, after a request made in dumb show that we 
would well clean our shoes. Some very good old china 
and Delft ware stood on two carved cabinets, black 
with age, and on the side table an old Dutch Bible, evi- 
dently, like the brass ewers, an heirloom. Everything 
was beautifully neat and clean. The dining-room walls 
were tiled several feet high with large Delft tiles a foot 
square, of a pale yellow hue, the designs executed in a 
dark rich brown. These consisted first, over the chim- 
ney-piece, of a portrait of the ancestor of the family, a 
" vaader," but how many " vaaders " before the present 
one of the family I could not make out ; by the quaint 
old costume I should imagine quite three or four. He 
is represented mounted upon a strong horse, with a horn 



92 



A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



at his lips, calling up endless herds of cattle, illustrating 
thus his wealth. The execution of this design was very 
bold and clever. Under the portrait, still forming part 
of the tile, was a long inscription in verse. Pastoral 
and scriptural subjects filled up all the others, with the 
exception of one facing the "vaader." This was an- 
other portrait, but of a "cow," we concluded also an 
ancestress of innumerable cows, for the good woman drew 
us up to it, and tried to explain something about u koe 
nioeder," and " kalfins," at the same time counting, as 
we imagined, the number of (i kalfins " on her fat white 
fingers, but it was done so rapidly, that although I came 
away with some vague idea of what she wished me to 
understand, I could not give it to others, fearing I 
might make some absurd mistake. The " cow," like her 
master, was honoured with several couplets. The upper 
portion of the room had panels of some dark wood. 
By the side of the chimnev huno- a handsome chased 
brass box, as bright as gold, and looking as if it w T ere 
made of that precious metal : probably the salt-box. 

We were not allowed to leave until the milk-jug had 
been again passed round ; then the garden had to be 
visited, a small belt of ground saved from the road, 
surrounded with the usual ditch. A few plants of rose- 
mary, lavender, and sweet herbs, with some monthly 
roses creeping up the house, was the extent of its floral 
decorations. There was a rickety construction of planks 
and withes, intended for an arbour, overhanging a very 
stagnant pool. This, we were made to understand, was 
a favourite resort of the good man s with his pipe. We 



ROTTERDAM. 



93 



could well imagine the necessity of the latter, to dis- 
guise the very unsavoury exhalations ascending from 
the slimy depths of rotten reed and black mud. I 
fancy the Dutch language is soon acquired, so many of 
the words resemble our own, and have the same origin. 
Several are written precisely the same, but the guttural 
pronunciation prevents one's recognizing them. Before 
leaving our kind entertainers, we were each presented 
with a rose and branch of rosemary " for remem- 
brance." 

Passing the canal on our homeward route, we met 
several barges laden with barrels of salt herrings, on 
their way into the interior. There could be no doubt 
as to the contents of the barrels. The herring fishery 
is of the greatest importance to Holland. A fleet of 
doggers leave for the fishing grounds on the north coast 
of England and Scotland, protected by men-of-war, leav- 
ing Holland in June and returning in October. The laws 
and regulations passed with regard to these fisheries and 
the fishermen are very rigid, and strictly enforced. The 
fish caught and intended for curing are at once slit open 
and plunged into a barrel of salt. Each barrel will 
hold eight hundred fish closely pressed and packed in 
the salt. Others are smoked, later after the process of 
salting has been undergone ; these go by the name of 
" Bokking." The merely cured are called " Gekaakte- 
haring." It was a fisherman of the name of " Benkels- 
zoon," in the year 1380, from " Biervliet," a fishing 
village in Zealand, who first practised curing fish. 
Charles Quint^ recognizing the importance to commerce 



94 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

of this mode of preserving fish, had a monument erected 
at " BiervHet," two hundred years later, in honour of 
one who had made so good a discovery. 

On several of the houses we saw storks' nests, It is 
considered so lucky to have one of these birds building 
on the roof, that every facility is offered them, and cart- 
wheels are placed upon chimneys or sheltered gables, 
where they soon begin to build. There they may be 
seen, the one on the nest, the other standing by the side 
of his mate on guard. They migrate with their brood 
about the month of August, and return in May, always 
coming to the same nest. 

We were told, but I will not vouch for the fact, that 
this large city, with a population of some 100,000, does 
not hold one soldier, it having been found the military 
were for ever embroiled with the sailors ; therefore all 
the regiments had been sent away. 



THE HAGUE. 

The Hague (S'Gravenhage) differs much from Kot- 
terdam. You miss the mercantile and seafaring aspect 
of the latter. There is less bustle and traffic, more pri- 
vate carriages are seen driving about the streets, parties 
of horsemen and ladies are met in the wood or prome- 
nades, all giving evidence of a different and higher class 
of society. French is the language mostly spoken in 
the shops, and the whole aspect of the place is more 



THE HAGUE. 



95 



French than Dutch. It has fine streets bordered by 
limes, and the " Voorhout," a large square shaded with 
old trees. Its sleepy canals, which are subservient to 
the town, and not the town to them, as elsewhere in 
Holland, are only disturbed by a few barges on their 
way into the interior, or the swift passage of the gaily- 
painted " Trekschuiten " or passenger-boat ; the cry of 
" Huy " or " Vull," alone breaking the stillness, as 
the little passage-boats meet "from opposite directions, 
and the side to be taken given out by their "Het 
Jargertje," bestriding the strong horse going along at a 
good brisk pace. The many fine buildings, private houses, 
and pleasure grounds, with the addition of the extensive 
wood, renders it a charming residence, and one is not 
surprised at its being selected for that of the Court. One 
of the walks most frequented is the " Vijverberg," or 
" Fishpond Hill." Avenues of trees, and well-laid-out 
paths bordered by a lake, make this a pleasant lounge. 

The Hague takes its name from the construction in 
the tenth, century of a hunting lodge, erected in the 
midst of a wood by "Thierry," first Count of Friesland. 
At its destruction William II. built on the same site 
the "Binenhof," a part of which is still intact. The 
inner court of this picturesque old building is in reality 
the court of the original palace, the residence of the 
Counts of Holland, and the cradle of the town. One 
side is bathed by the sluggish waters of the "Vijverberg," 
the other has its outlet to the streets. There is an old 
Gothic hall with, a fine-pointed roof carved in cedar 
wood, besides the criminal court, which are both in 



96 



A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



excellent preservation. From this centre grew and ra- 
diated the present town. Grouped round this square 
are the different law courts, the Chambers of the States 
General, and other public offices. Exactly opposite the 
doorway of the Gothic hall was erected the scaffold 
upon which, in 1619, "Jan D'Olden Barneveldt," Grand 
Pensioner of Holland, and an eminent statesman, was 
put to death. He incurred the displeasure of Prince 
Maurice for negotiating peace with Spain, thus 
thwarting the Prince's ambitious views. The latter 
silently determined to be rid of the statesman : a pretext 
soon occurred in the religious dissensions that com- 
menced between the " Arminians" and the " Gomarests," 
the Orangeists, and the Eepublicans. De Barneveldt 
and Grotius were both arrested as Eepublicans, and 
falsely accused of intriguing with their party to betray 
the country to Spain. De Barneveldt was condemned 
to death, and executed at the age of 71. Grotius, born 
at Delft, commenced his career as a legal advocate, and 
as such was eminently successful. He became a 
member of the States General and Syndic of Eotterdam. 
Having sided with Barneveldt and the Arminian cause, 
he fortunately escaped the fate of his friend — being 
condemned to imprisonment for life. This, through the 
courage and dexterity of his wife, he also escaped, for 
she managed to have him secreted in a clothes chest, 
and so passed the gates of the castle in which he was 
confined. He died in Sweden in 1645. Grotius's 
name is well known as that of a profound theologian, 
a philosopher, and historian. 

The Remontants, or Arminians, have played so promi- 



THE HAGUE. 



97 



nent a part in the history of Holland that I cannot 
pass them over without a word. They were followers 
of James Arminius, or Harmensen, who was born at 
Oude Water, in Holland, 1560. He maintained, — 
1st. Conditional election and reprobation, in opposition 
to absolute predestination. 2nd. Universal redemption, 
or that the atonement was made by Christ for all man- 
kind, though none but believers can be partakers 
of the benefit. 3rd. That man, in order to exercise 
true faith, must be regenerated and renewed by the 
operation of the Holy Spirit, which is the gift of 
God • but that His grace is not irresistible and may 
be lost, so that men may relapse from a state of 
grace and die in sin, — doctrines opposed to those of 
Calvin. Arminius was not only a pious, earnest man, 
but supremely tolerant. 

The G-omarests and Jansenites, also had much share 
in the troubles of this country. The former were 
followers of Gomarus, a Protestant divine, born at 
Bruges in 1503, educated at Oxford and Cambridge, 
Theological and fellow Professor of Arminius (his 
opponent) at Leyden; intolerant and bigoted in his 
defence on the points of election and predestination. 
The Jansenites had for their head Cornelius Jansen, 
Bishop of Ypres, Professor of Divinity of Louvaine, 
a most learned divine, born in Holland in the vear 
1585. He wrote a work, by the wish of the King of 
Spain, against the French, for having formed an alli- 
ance with the Protestant states, which gained him 
the bishopric of Ypres. He maintained a controversy 



98 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND, 



with the Protestants upon the subject of grace and 
predestination. His work, entitled ' Augustinus,' led 
to interminable contests. There were, and are, several 
other sects, not including the Anabaptists : of these I 
shall have to speak later. 

Leaving the Beuitenhof, we passed beneath the shadow 
of the old gateway called the " Gevangenpoort " (prison 
gate) ; above it is the room, still seen, from which 
the unfortunate brothers De Witt were torn by the 
frenzied populace to a cruel death. They had been 
at the head of the Government during the Kepublic, 
but when Holland elected William III. Stadtholder, 
the De Witts' opposition to the Prince's nomination 
led to their being accused of conspiracy against him. 
The Grand Pensioner, De Witt, was the first to suffer. 
He was wounded by an assassin ; his brother, Corne- 
lius de Witt, imprisoned and tortured. That both 
brothers might be destroyed at the same time, the 
elder was summoned to the bedside of Cornelius in 
the prison. While sitting reading the Scriptures to 
the tortured man, the mob were informed of their 
being together: excited and furious at their not yet 
having been executed, a crowd from the street rushed 
up the narrow staircase, and, notwithstanding the efforts 
of the gaolers and guards, dragged the counsellor from 
his bed, and after severely wounding him, drove him, 
with his brother, down the steps, cruelly maltreating 
them before bringing them out into the street, when 
they were inhumanly butchered after fearful sufferings, 
their dead bodies tossed to and fro by those they had 



THE HAGUE. 



99 



governed so well, and, disgracefully mutilated, were 
suspended by their feet to the scaffold. Thus fell two 
great and good men, victims to the injustice of a 
political reaction, murdered by the people they had 
gloriously defended. 

The Museum of Pictures at the Hague is one of the 
finest in Holland. Kembrandt's ' Lesson in Anatomy ' 
is here, a picture never equalled in truth and vigour ; 
besides some splendid portraits by him. There are 
several by Vandyke, in beautiful preservation. This 
gallery holds works from the brushes of the most emi- 
nent Dutch masters, to say nothing of Paul Potter's 
well-known c Young Bull,' with several others of his. 
Pity one so gifted should have died so young. Attached 
to this building is also a rich collection of curiosities 
from all nations, more especially Japan, China, Java, 
and the Dutch colonies. Amongst the strange objects 
from Japan, I cannot pass over the cases containing the 
monsters. Along one side of a room, behind glass 
doors, the eye rests upon strange and weird mum- 
mied forms, — dragons, mermaids, flying serpents, and 
other hideous conceptions, such as we meet with de- 
picted upon the porcelain and japanned articles coming 
from that country. The deception is wonderfully 
carried out, and it is only when you chance to find one 
of these creatures falling to pieces from decay that 
you detect the fraud. While still fresh, the body of a 
large snake (for instance) has had the head of a cro- 
codile or dog united to it ; again, legs and feet from 
large aquatic birds have been added, and perhaps the 

h 2 



100 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

leathery wings of a huge bat ; the skin neatly joined, 
the wrinkles and folds of the flesh minutely carried 
out, and the whole dried. Large fish cut in half, with 
the head of an ape, gives the mermaid. Case after 
case is thus filled with these grotesque conceptions — 
originating, one would think, in some madman's dis- 
ordered brain. In another room is preserved the bowl, 
medal, hat, and jacket worn by u William the Silent," 
when shot at Delft. With these relics is kept the 
wooden ball into which each member struck a nail 
as he took the Oath of Confederation. 

We visited one or two of the churches and the 
" House in the Wood," a royal pleasance, filled with 
paintings by Jordaens, illustrating the life and glories 
of Frederick Henri of Orange. Besides these are 
some interesting portraits, amongst others one of *Le 
Taciturn,' as William was styled, and one of William III. 
The Chinese room is the principal attraction of the 
place. After having been so long amidst shipping, 
canals, and dykes, we enjoyed a drive through the deep 
shadows of the wood, where — 

" Poplar and elm showed aisles 
Of pleasant shadow, greenly roofed." 

The wood was very quiet, the soft rustling of the trees 
pleasant and cool ; ever and anon some bird awoke the 
echoes for a few seconds, and then all sank into silence. 
We seemed to be the only occupants of the place until, 
at the turn of a broad avenue, where the sunlight fil- 
tered down in golden threads that lost themselves among 



THE HAGUE. 



101 



the tangled grasses, a seat was placed on the roots of a 
wide-spreading beech. The wheels of the carriage sunk 
deep into the heavy sand, and gave no warning of our 
approach to the two occupants of the bench, — a young 
lad and a young girl ; she listening, with downcast eyes, 
he pleading the old, old story, ever the same since the 
garden of Eden. Neither were handsome, save for a 
certain beauty youth gives; and the soft shades on 
their faces, thrown by the thick foliage, added to the 
easy grace ever accompanying natural attitudes. We 
were glad our noiseless approach had not been per- 
ceived. 

The Hague is particularly interesting to English 
people, for it is intimately connected with our own his- 
tory, and the names of many of our most eminent men. 
Elizabeth's unscrupulous favourite Leicester held here 
a National Synod during the short time he was raised 
to the rank of Stadtholder of the United Provinces ; a 
position from which, however, he was soon recalled. 
In this city, during his exile, Charles II. met Lucy 
Walters, who became the mother of the best-loved and 
most ungrateful of his sons, the Duke of Monmouth. 
Inheriting many of his royal father's failings, he was 
still very fascinating. His personal beauty and polished 
manners rendered him a great favourite at the .court of 
his cousin the Princess of Orange, during his exile. He 
only left it after receiving tidings of his father's death. 
He then took up his residence in Brussels, where he 
remained until induced once more to join in treasonable 
conspiracies. Sailing from the Texel with an expecli- 



102 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

tion against James, he landed at Lyme, in Devonshire, 
soon after to lay his head upon the block. 

The Hague was the spot often chosen for political 
negotiations. Sir William Temple, the expert diplo- 
matist, twice appeared here in behalf of England, to 
negotiate with the States General. The first time, 
authorized by Charles II., he soon came to an under- 
standing with De Witt, Chief Minister of Holland, the 
result being the coalition known as the " Triple Alli- 
ance," Sweden uniting with England and the States. 
The second time, when through his instrumentality a 
separate peace was concluded with the United States, 
and he once more became ambassador. 

Gilbert, Bishop Burnet, during his wanderings on 
the Continent, after retiring from the English Court, 
was kindly received by the Prince and his wife. He in 
return cleared away the only cloud that rested between 
them by pointing out to Mary what would be her 
husband's position whenever she became Queen of 
England. Upon thoroughly realizing that, although 
she were queen, he would not share her throne, Mary 
charged the divine to inform the Prince of her inten- 
tion, whenever the throne of England became hers, 
to induce her Parliament not only to give the royal 
title to her husband, but even to transfer to him by 
legislative act the administration of the Government; 
an intention she fully adhered to, and carried out to 
the happiness of England. Thus did we gain the 
rule of a prince, who, to quote the historian's words, 
" Like his great grandfather, the ' Silent Prince/ who 



THE HAGUE. 



103 



founded the Batayian Commonwealth, occupies a far 
higher place among statesmen than any warrior." 
At eighteen William was seen " sitting among the 
Fathers of the Commonwealth, grave, discreet, and 
judicious as the oldest among them. At twenty-one, 
on. a day of gloom and terror, he was placed at the 
head of the Administration. At twenty-three he was 
renowned through Europe as a great soldier and a 
politician. He had put domestic faction under foot; 
he was the soul of a mighty coalition ; and he had 
contended with honour in the field against some of 
the greatest generals of the age." 

On the 16th October, 1688, the Prince bade farewell 
to the "States of Holland," "thanking them for the 
care of him while a child, and the confidence they had 
reposed in him during his administration, and for the 
assistance they had granted him at the present crisis. 
He was perhaps quitting them for ever. Should he fall 
in his defence of the reformed religion and the inde- 
pendence of Europe, he recommended his wife and 
children to their care." Public prayers were offered 
for him in all the churches. His flag was hoisted 
when he embarked at Helyoetsluys ; on it, besides 
the device of the House of Orange, "Je maintien- 
derai" — " T will maintain," — was added, " The liber- 
ties of England, and the Protestant religion." A gale 
springing up, the fleet had to put back, and a 
detention of three days occurred. On the 4th of 
November, notwithstanding delays and impediments 
caused by hazy weather, William's yacht anchored 



104 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

in Torbay : a fragment of the rock he first put his 
foot upon is reverentially preserved. The 18th of 
December saw the barge of James, the fallen sove- 
reign, slowly working its way down the river, towards 
Rochester, while the troops of William poured into 
London to the sound of joy-bells and the rejoicings 
of the people, he himself being already in St. James's. 
Five days later the dethroned King escaped to France. 
William and Mary were tendered the crown of Eng- 
land on the 13th of February. He was the first of 
England's rulers who solved the problem of constitu- 
tional monarchy, thus making the duties of our princes 
easy. It became a broad open path for those who 
followed him, but one he had not found easy. Had 
it not been for his real ability and genius, he could 
never have mastered the complicated difficulties of 
his situation. A Stadtholder in Holland, with all its 
republican forms, a King of England and Scotland 
— ruler, in short, of four nations, all with separate 
interests, jealousies, and animosities — William III. 
deserves the foremost place of all the English rulers. 
He was none the less loved in his own country for 
all these divided interests; albeit his people were 
inclined to be jealous of his being so much away from 
them, for the Hague was the scene of real rejoicings 
and sumptuous festivities, when their Stadtholder, 
become King of England, returned once more to the 
home of his fathers in January, 1691. Even the 
poorer classes, who could not reach him in any other 
way, skated down the frozen canals from Amsterdam, 



THE HAGUE. 



105 



Kotterdam, Leyden, Delft, and Haarlem, to welcome 
him on his arrival at Houslaerclyke. 

William never once forgot his hereditary mission — 
" the protection of the reformed faith." History tells 
us " his influence with Eoman Catholic princes was 
constantly and strenuously exerted for the benefit of 
their Protestant subjects." " In the spring of 1691 the 
Waldensian shepherds, long and cruelly persecuted, and 
weary of their lives, were surprised by glad tidings. 
Those who had been imprisoned for heresy returned to 
their homes. Children who had been taken from their 
parents to be educated by priests, were sent back. 
Congregations which had hitherto met only by stealth, 
and with extreme peril, now worshipped God without 
molestation in the face of day." The great beauty of 
William's character was its consistency. Other great 
names are connected with the Hague, but none touches 
an English heart like that of William III., for we 
owe him a deep debt of gratitude. He resembled 
much in character the noble ancestor who now rests 
beneath the splendid tomb at Delft. 

Like the canals in Amsterdam, those of the Hague 
are very stagnant, owing to their having no outlet 
to the sea, but flowing from it. By the aid of a 
gigantic steam-engine the water is raised from the 
dams and conveyed to the Yijverberg, whose still 
waters are thus displaced into the canals, effecting a 
feeble current through the Hague, and driving a por- 
tion into the canal leading to Delft. From the latter 
place the water barely flows to the borders of the 



106 A FEW DAYS IX BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



Meuse and Rotterdam, where it is again pumped up 
and discharged into the river. Notwithstanding this, 
the Hague is not so unhealthy a town as Amsterdam. 
This may be accounted for by its population being con- 
siderably under that of Amsterdam, and consequently 
the amount of impurity received by the canals much 
less. 

As we left the Hague for Delft, we passed, placed on 
an island, the large building that had once been the 
Dutch India House, but is now converted into a royal 
arsenal. It still bears on its front the arms of the old 
Eepublic. On the opposite side of the canal stands a 
very beautifully-ornamented old house ; the entire front 
is covered with coats of arms, wreaths, and floral deco- 
rations carved in stone ; it must have been at a remote 
period the residence of some noteworthy person; at 
the present time it has become a museum. 

The highway runs by the side of a large canal shaded 
with tall, restless poplars, that cast trembling shadows 
across the road, and are reflected in the w T ater — 
reflexions which are ever and anon broken through by 
the passage of a round-stemmed darkly-polished barge, 
either sailing before the wind, or towed by its owner 
and his dog ; sometimes even the strong wife giving a 
helping hand. We saw here a novel method employed 
for watering the roads. A man stands beside the 
narrow ditch bordering the inner side of the road, and 
from this he ladles out the green water in a long 
wooden trough with a handle, its shape resembling 
a huge marrow-bone spoon. This he swings over the 



THE HAGUE. 



107 



dusty ground, and woe betide the luckless passer-by. 
We escaped, but a party of gaily-dressed ladies follow- 
ing us in an open carriage, received by far the larger 
portion of the contents of his ladle. The man was 
perfectly impassive, reproaches touched him not. He 
had his work to do, and done it must be, regardless of 
inconvenience to others. The sighs and lamentations 
of a whole carriageful of pretty girls were nothing to 
him. 

Every barge has its family dwelling on board, and each 
presented its little scenes of domestic life to our amused 
eye. The children tumbled about, and played on the 
raised deck over the cabin with the dogs, still in their 
towing harness, while the mother cooked or worked. 
The forms of these barges, and their brightly-polished 
or gaudily-painted hulks, vary pleasantly the monotony 
of the flat shores. Mats are woven out of the long 
marsh grasses and reeds in Holland, and form a great 
article of commerce ; boats laden with these, passed us, 
the inmates, men, women, and children, all busy plait- 
ing them, while those finished, and lately dyed, hung 
in festoons all about the vessel. As they use a great 
deal of red, black, and green in their dyes, these 
festoons added much to the picturesque appearance of 
the boats. Much of the red and white matting for 
halls, &c, sold in England as Chinese, is in reality 
Dutch: they have learnt to copy what at first they 
imported. The patterns of many of these are exceed- 
ingly pretty. 



108 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



DELFT. 



Delft is a clean, sleepy old town, having its still 
canals overhung with large trees and quaint old houses ; 
it is so quiet that it seems but half awake, as if, indeed, 
it had never recovered from the shock of the terrible 
crime that had been perpetrated within its walls, or 
ceased to mourn for the death of a dearly-loved Prince. 

We drove to the Prinsenhof (Prince's Court) exactly 
opposite the "Oude Kerk." It has now become a 
barrack. A very civil non-commissioned officer received 
us, and hearing from the driver of our carriage that we 
wished to go over the place, immediately took us in. 
Speaking no Dutch ourselves, and he unable to under- 
stand French, a consultation held amongst several of 
them, ended in the arrival of a young officer who, 
desiring our first acquaintance to follow with the keys, 
explained everything to us in French, which he spoke 
fluently. We were shown the dining-room which the 
Prince had just left w 7 ith his wife and family, when 
the assassin's shot struck him down. It remains quite 
unchanged, and is used as a mess-room. The broad 
oak staircase, beyond a vestibule, faced us as we came 
out of the room ; it turns slightly inward after ascend- 
ing the first step, thus forming on the left a slight 
angle or nook ; here is the dark arch leading to a back 
door in which the murderer concealed himself. The 
door opens into a lane, through which he passed when 



DELFT. 



109 



trying to escape to the ramparts, after assuring himself 
that the shot had taken effect. The unfortunate Prince 
must have passed so close to the assassin, that the 
latter had to shrink back into the narrow dark space 
in order to avoid coming in actual contact with his 
victim. William had ascended the first three or four 
steps before the pistol was discharged : the mark of the 
bullet that passed through him is deeply indented in 
the wall. 

What was in those days the music hall, has now 
become a " salle d'armes," hung round with the 
usual foils, wire masks, arms, &c. Nothing could 
exceed the courtesy of the gentleman who took us over 
the building. From the house in which this great 
man had lived, we passed to that where all that 
remains of him on earth now rests in the "Meuwe 
Kerk," under a handsome canopied tomb of black and 
white marble. There he lies in effigy, with the faithful 
little dog at his feet that saved his life when the 
Spanish assassins attempted to enter his tent, under 
the cover of night, at Malines. The little animal, 
hearing stealthy footsteps, roused his master by bark- 
ing and tearing at the bed-clothes until the Prince, 
who was overfatigued, awoke. It was but just in time 
that he made his escape. The vaults of the reigning 
family are beneath this tomb. In death, they all rest 
side by side with the greatest of their name — one 
whose life was a ceaseless struggle, conflict, and labour 
for the welfare of his people and his country. 

His political career commenced at a very early age. 



110 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

A loyal subject of his king, a Eoman Catholic by pro- 
fession, he was eminently tolerant and generous, ever 
seeking to prevent persecution and save the oppressed. 
It was during his stay in France, as one of the hostages 
for the execution of the treaty of Chateau Cambresis 
that he became acquainted with the secret conspiracy 
Philip of Spain and Henry of France were organizing 
for the massacre of all converts to the reformed faith 
in both countries. The French monarch, imagining the 
Prince was a party to the plot, spoke unreservedly to 
him. The latter, indignant and horrified at the nefarious 
scheme thus laid before him, concealed his feelings, 
silently continuing to receive the revelations. Shortly 
after, requesting permission to return to the Nether- 
lands, he earnestly sought for the means of saving his 
fellow-countrymen from the terror of the Inquisition. 
On the 25th October, 1560, he declined any longer to 
serve as commander, for although a Eoman Catholic, 
he would not be a party to the persecutions he foresaw 
were coming. He even endeavoured to remonstrate 
with the King and the Duchess. Ever watchful he 
marked the progress of events, exerting his energies 
faithfully to establish religious peace, and at the same 
time uphold the law and restore order. He succeeded 
at Antwerp, risking his life in the cause, but felt the 
time was approaching when he would have to make a 
more decided choice as to the part he would take in the 
future ; he could not and would not become the tool of 
a tyranny and cruel persecution he abhorred. He there- 
fore had determined to resist — a resistance that became 



DELFT. 



Ill 



the labour of his life : with a fortitude and disinterested- 
ness never equalled did he persevere to the end. 

The continued barbarities and oppressions of Alva 
after having quelled the insurrection in Friesland, 
aroused the generous nature of the Prince. Up to 
this period, although professing the Eoman Catholic 
religion, he had never been devout, but now a change 
came over his mind, he began to inspect more closely 
the real, essential attributes of Christianity. Step by 
step advancing, he daily became more allied to the 
purity of the reformed faith, a faith he at last deter- 
mined to embrace, but in a spirit that left the most 
eminent reformers far behind him. Eeligious liberty, 
and freedom for all forms of worship, he strove for with 
calm, unflinching spirit. He urged unity in one common 
cause against oppression. He saw the clouds gathering, 
like the Prophet of old, that were to overshadow his 
country. "If one look into the land, behold darkness 
and sorrow ; " but he recoiled not from the severe duties 
or grave character of the undertaking before him. The 
knowledge that he must stand alone did not daunt him. 
He was no fanatic, but calmly relied upon the support 
of his God in all emergencies, and his help in the struggle 
to save His people. Throughout all the trials that 
beset him during the wildest political storms, his faith 
never failed him : crushing defeats were met with sub- 
mission to the Holy will, and he ever pressed onward 
with the work he deemed had been confided to his care 
by the Almighty, trusting to that aid which was not 
denied him at the last. 



112 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

The 23rd of October, 1573, he publicly attended a 
Calvinistic meeting, and enrolled himself for life a 
soldier of the Keforniation. Colder and more alienated 
became his old associates; those who had remained 
long stanch now fell away from his side ; he was left 
alone to declare war against Alva. He addressed a 
solemn, eloquent proclamation to the people of the 
Netherlands. Had it not been for his efforts, it is 
probable there would never have been a free Nether- 
land Commonwealth. The enthusiastic passion of the 
people for both civil and religious liberty aided 
him at this juncture. "This defender of a people's 
cause set up no revolutionary standard. In all his 
documents he paid apparent reverence to the King. 
By a fiction which was not unphilosophical, he assumed 
that the monarch was incapable of the crimes which he 
charged upon the Viceroy. Thus he did not assume 
the character of a rebel in arms against the Prince, but 
in his own capacity of a sovereign he levied troops, and 
waged war against a satrap whom he chose to consider 
false to his master's orders. In the interest of Philip, 
assumed to be identical with the welfare of his people, 
he took arms against the tyrant who was sacrificing 
both." 

William assembled nearly thirty thousand men, and 
thus prepared, stepped forth to battle with the most 
powerful monarch of the world, and save his own 
country from that monarch's tyranny. He issued the 
following proclamation to the inhabitants of the Pro- 
vinces, dated the 31st August, 1568: — " We, by God's 



DELFT. 



113 



grace Prince of Orange, salute all faithful subjects of 
His Majesty. To few people it is unknown that the 
Spaniards have for a long time sought to govern the 
land according to their own pleasure. Abusing His 
Majesty's goodness, they have persuaded him to decree 
the introduction of the Inquisition into the Netherlands. 
They well understood that in case the Netherlands could 
be made to tolerate its exercise, they would lose all pro- 
tection to their liberty ; that if they opposed its intro- 
duction they would open those rich provinces as a vast 
field of plunder. We had hoped that His Majesty, taking 
the matter to heart, would have spared his hereditary 
Provinces from such utter ruin. We have found our 
hopes futile. We are unable, by reason of our loyal 
service due to His Majesty, and of our true compassion 
for the faithful lieges, to look with tranquillity any 
longer at such murders, robberies, outrages, and agony. 
We are, moreover, certain that His Majesty has been 
badly informed upon Netherland matters. We take up 
arms therefore to oppose the violent tyranny of the 
Spaniards, by the help of the merciful God, who is the 
enemy of all bloodthirstiness. Cheerfully inclined to 
wager our life and all our worldly wealth in the cause, 
we have now, God be thanked, an excellent army of 
cavalry, infantry, and artillery, raised at our own ex- 
pense. We summon all loyal subjects of the Nether- 
lands to come and help us. Let them take heart, the 
uttermost need of the country, the danger of perpetual 
slavery for themselves and their children, and of the 
entire overthrow of the evangelical religion is threatened. 

I 



114 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

Only when Alva's bloodthirstiness ^shall have been at 
last overpowered, can the Provinces hope to recover 
their pure administration of justice, and a prosperous 
condition for their Commonwealth." 

But I am not going to follow the Prince through his 
long years of struggles, varying success, and cruel 
vicissitudes. They are recorded in history, and can be 
read there. During all that period, unaided as he was, 
he still diffused through the country a spirit that lifted 
the people. He himself was sustained by an energy 
that could only have been given him from the highest 
source. His position was, indeed, a painful one ; wasted 
in means, looked upon with coldness by friends, and 
having to bear up against the lukewarmness of partisans, 
he and his cause became unpopular. Born and edu- 
cated in princely pomp as a sovereign, he cheerfully 
gave up all luxurious state, content to accept every 
privation for the cause he had embraced. The time at 
last came when his perseverance compassed a country's 
emancipation, and through trials and difficulties such as 
no man had ever coped with before, William moulded a 
Commonwealth. He was, however, pursued by the endur- 
ing hatred of Spain. The love borne him by a grateful 
people could not save him from the secret assassin. 
Nine times was his life attempted. The twoyears preced- 
ing his death five men had sought to kill him — Jaureguy, 
at Antwerp; Salseda; and Baza, at Bruges. Pietro 
Dardogno was executed at Antwerp for an attack on 
the Prince, confessing before his death that he had come 
from Spain for the sole purpose of destroying him. A 



DELFT. 



115 



year later Hans Hanzoon, a merchant of Flushing, en- 
deavoured, by placing gunpowder under the Prince's 
house and in the church he frequented, to compass his 
death. This man, by his own testimony, had planned 
the assassination with the Spanish ambasssaclor in Paris. 
A French prisoner was offered his liberty by Alexander 
of Parma, on condition that he would poison William ; 
Le Goth was, however, attached to the Prince, and only 
agreed to the plot that he might have it in his power 
to warn the victim, which he did, and afterwards re- 
mained a faithful servant of the man he was to have 
killed. Unfortunately the last attempt was but too 
successful. In the summer of 1584 William resided at 
Delft with his wife, Louise de Coligny. She had the 
winter before given birth to a son, the afterwards cele- 
brated Stadtholder Frederick Henry. Gerard Bal- 
thazar, the man destined to rob the Netherlands of the 
wise, much-loved monarch, was sent by the Prince of 
Parma. Before starting for Delft he had an interview 
with Councillor D'Assonleville, and by him was desired, 
if he failed in the attempt, to be very careful not to 
inculpate the Prince of Parma. On the 11th of April, 
1584, D'Assonleville had his last meeting with Gerard, 
bidding him farewell, adding, " Go forth, my son, and if 
you succeed in your enterprise the King will fulfil all 
his promises, and you will gain an immortal name 
beside." On the Sunday morning, as the bells were 
calling worshippers to the church, Balthazar Gerard 
was seen by the sergeant of halberdiers loitering about 
the courtyard. Asking him what he needed, the Spaniard 

i 2 



A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



replied he was desirous of going to church, but 
feared in his shabby clothes to join the congregation. 
The halberdier good-naturedly mentioned the circum- 
stance to his officer, who in turn spoke of it to the 
Prince himself. The latter immediately ordered a sum 
of money to be given Gerard, that he might supply 
himself with proper clothing. Thus the unfortunate 
Prince paid for the weapon that was to take his life. 
The next day Gerard purchased the arms he needed 
from a soldier, who, poor fellow, when he afterwards 
heard whom they had been used against, stabbed him- 
self in despair. On the Tuesday, the 10th of July, 
1584, the Prince, with his wife on his arm, followed by 
the other members of his family, passed to the dining- 
room. He wore the wide-brimmed felt hat with a 
silken cord adopted in the early days of the Confedera- 
tion of " Les Gueux," a ruff round his neck, from which 
hung one of the medals also worn by " The Beggars," 
with the motto, " Fidelis au Eey jusqu a la besace ; " a 
long leathern doublet and loose surcoat of grey frieze, 
with slashed hose, completed his costume. At the 
doorway Gerard presented himself, asking for a pass- 
port. The Princess, struck by what she termed so 
"villanous a countenance," became alarmed. Not so 
the Prince, who ordered his secretary to see to the 
matter, and then passed on to the dining-room, which, 
as I have before mentioned, is on the ground floor, 
opening into a small vestibule, communicating through 
an arched passage with the main entrance. Upon the 
left is the little dark arch. The Prince, coming from 



DELFT. 



117 



the dining-room, commenced ascending the stairs. 
Gerard, leaning forward, deliberately discharged the 
pistol, aiming at the heart. Three balls, poisoned, so 
the assassin himself averred, pierced the unfortunate 
Prince's body, one of which passed through him and 
lodged in the wall behind. As he fell into the arms 
of Jacob yan Maldere, his master of the horse, he ex- 
claimed in French, "God have mercy on my soul! 
O my God, have mercy upon these poor people !" A 
few moments later he breathed his last sigh in the 
Princess's arms. The murderer immediately dashed 
through the little doorway and out into the lane, but 
was captured near the ramparts, having stumbled over 
a heap of rubbish, while flying before his pursuers, and 
not far from the moat he had intended swimming, a 
horse being in readiness on the other side. It is need- 
less to say his death was a fearful one, remembering, as 
we must, the exasperation of the people and the cruel 
punishments of the period. It was so cruel and fearful 
a tortured death that I shrink from describing it here, 
bat it can be found in Motley's work, to which I have 
already referred. • He gives, besides the details of 
Gerard's death, an interesting analysis of the man's 
character and his almost superhuman courage under 
torture. A fanatical Roman Catholic, he feigned to be 
the son of a martyred Calvinist, and one of his followers, 
that he might thus the more easily obtain access to the 
presence of his victim. Only just entering life, of 
small, mean stature, he nevertheless possessed the fore- 
sight and cunning that could scheme a well-arranged 



118 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

plan and the determination that carried it out. For 
this crime the King of Spain bestowed on Gerard's 
family the sum he had promised him for the accom- 
plishment of the foul deed, thus crowning the infamy 
of the whole transaction. 

Delft is one of the oldest towns of South Holland, 
being inferior only to Dordtrecht and Haarlem. In the 
eleventh century Godfrey the Hunchback surrounded it 
with a wall as fortification, but all its present interest is 
connected with the memory of " William the Silent." The 
potteries and various manufactories for which it was once 
famous have all disappeared ; its activity has ceased. In 
the Nieuwe Kerk is buried Grrotius, who nearly suffered 
death with De Barneveldt and Leuwenhock, the great 
naturalist, also inventor of the microscope. The Oude 
Kerk has a fine tomb over the remains of the famous 
Admiral Tromp (Marten Harpetszoom), who carried a 
broom at his mast-head, in token of having swept 
the seas of his English enemies. This gallant old 
sailor, however, after thirty-two famous sea-fights, was 
ultimately killed by the English in an engagement 
midway betw r een the Maas and Sckevenning. The 
tomb is a fine piece of sculpture, worthy of the name it 
is immortalizing. Some very beautiful old windows, 
painted by Dyman, dating from the sixteenth cen- 
tury, are found in this church. Delft, like most of 
the towns of Holland, has added several names to the 
list of painters. Leonard Bramer, Michiel Miereveld, 
H. van Vliet, E. van Aalst, P. J. van Asch, and Van 
de Meer are all well known in the world of art. 



DELFT. 



119 



On our way homewards we encountered a wedding 
party, a procession of eight old-fashioned cabriolets, each 
containing two people. The first held the bride and 
bridegroom ; the horse was caparisoned with red and 
white wreaths ; they were twisted round his neck, har- 
ness, and reins ; even the whip had its coil of flowers ; 
the bride's face almost invisible from the quantity of gold 
ornaments that covered it; her hair strained back under a 
beautiful lace cap ; broad bands of gold across her fore- 
head, nearly reaching the eyebrows, and on her temples 
the round gold ornaments worn in this part of Holland. 
From her ears hung long earrings, while round her throat 
thick links of gold were fastened by a large clasp of the 
same precious metal. Many of the other women had 
equally handsome ornaments. Their fortunes, one would 
imagine, are thus carried on their persons. This accu- 
mulation of wealth does not add to their beauty; it 
renders the face very harsh. None of the head-dresses 
in Holland can be called becoming, although charac- 
teristic and original. 

As the evening mists began to rise we found our- 
selves once more looking from the windows of our 
room into the "Voorhout." During the night the 
watchman came his rounds every quarter of an hour, 
first springing a wooden clapper, and then calling out 
the hour with an " All 's well ! " In the stillness of the 
night we heard them answering one another from every 
quarter of the town ; for those unaccustomed to the 
sound it is not conducive of sleep. 

A fine equestrian statue of William of Orange, in 



120 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



the habit of " Les Gueux," is placed near the Palace. 
It is a handsome, grave, thoughtful face that we are 
thus shown in bronze. The arms of the town, a stork 
with a snake, or eel, in his beak, has its legend. Storks, 
it is averred, once saved the city from inundation, un- 
consciously warning the inhabitants of decay in one of 
the principal dykes. Numbers of these birds were 
seen, day after day, assembling at one particular spot ; 
the embankment examined, soon show T ed what had 
proved the attraction ; quantities of eels were shelter- 
ing amidst the piles, fast decaying — a decay never 
suspected — and which would soon have yielded to the 
force of the waters. In commemoration of this event, 
tame storks are kept in the fish-market at the expense 
of the town. They are very miserable specimens after 
those we had seen in a wild state gravely stalking 
through the meadows. 

The Hague is one of the most enjoyable cities in 
Holland ; one could well understand its being a favour- 
ite resort with foreigners. The painters, Johannes Van 
Kavesteijn, Daniel Vertangen, Andreas Schelfhout, C. 
Yan Cuylenbourg, B. Appelmen, J. Van Hagen, H. Van 
Limborcht, Coenret, Eoebel, Mathias Terwesten, Jean 
le Duck, Louis Moritz, J. S. Van Os, were all born at 
the Hague. 



( 121 ) 



LEYDEN. 

On our way to Amsterdam, we stopped at Leyden, 
famous for its University, which owes its origin to the 
long siege it endured from the Spaniards under 
Valdez, in 1573-4. The town was defended by its 
inhabitants, who were encouraged by the command of 
their Burgomaster, Pieter Adrianzon Vander Werf, and 
John Vander Does : for months they gallantly held 
out, although reduced both by famine and pestilence. 
At the last the Prince of Orange determined to call the 
waters to his aid. The dykes of the Maas and Tjssel 
were cut, submerging the country between Gouda, Dort, 
Rotterdam, and Leyden ; still this failed to float the 
Prince's flotilla of 200 boats, manned by 800 Zealanders. 
The wretched inhabitants could see them from the walls 
of their town, but were still beyond reach of rescue by 
the gallant fleet. Maddened and desperate, they de- 
manded bread or the surrender of the city. The 
gallant Governor sturdily refused. " 1 have sworn to 
defend this city," he replied, "and by God's help I 
mean to keep that oath. Bread I have none ; but if 
my body can afford you relief and enable you to prolong 
the defence, take it and tear it to pieces, and let those 
who are most hungry among you share it." A few 
weeks later the wind changed, and the tide suddenly 
veered with storms, bringing up the water, which, 
widening the breaches in the dykes, flooded the country 



122 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

up to the very walls of the beleaguered city. The sud- 
denness with which the waters rose, took the Spaniards 
by surprise, and a thousand or more were drowned. 

While the flotilla of boats laden with provisions 
reached the starving people, a fierce battle from the 
tops of the dykes and branches of the trees, where they 
had sought shelter from the flood, took place between 
the Spaniards and the Dutch, ending in the overthrow 
of the former. To this siege the University owes its 
birth. The Prince of Orange, as a reward for their 
bravery, offered the citizens of Leyden the choice of 
two privileges — either an exemption from certain taxes, 
or the founding of the University. They chose the 
latter, a lasting memorial of the gallantry of the people. 
It has given a long list of distinguished names to the 
world of letters. Amongst others, those of Evelyn and 
Goldsmith who studied there. There is an interesting 
set of museums in this town well worth visiting. Near 
here the great painter Rembrandt was born, also Luc 
Jocebez, or Lucas Von Leyden, and Cornelius Engle- 
brechtesn, in the fifteenth century ; later, J. Van Goyen, 
William Van Velde, Gerard Dow, Gabriel Metsu, Jan 
Stein, P. Van Slingelandt, Karl de Moor, G. Miers, 
and Otto Venius. There are the ruins of an old castle 
close to the town, by some supposed to have been built 
by the Frieslanders as early as the fifth century, by 
others attributed to the Saxons; it resembles those of 
the same date that we have in England. 

Here was bom the famous and infamous John Beukels, 
a journeyman tailor, who, with John Matthias, a baker 



LEYDEN. 



123 



of Haarlem, joining the Anabaptists, became possessed 
with the idea of proselytizing. They established them- 
selves at Minister, in Westphalia. Both endowed with 
the qualities requisite for desperate enterprises, added 
to an appearance of real sanctity, they soon gained con- 
verts. Among these were Eotham, who had first preached 
Protestant doctrines in Munster, and Cnipperdoling, a 
citizen of some standing. They openly taught their 
opinions, and made several attempts to become masters 
of the town, in order to get their tenets established by 
public authority. At last they succeeded during the 
night-time, with their associates from the neighbouring 
country, in gaining possession of the arsenal and senate- 
house. Bushing about with drawn swords, they called 
upon the people to " repent and be baptized." The 
senators, nobility, and indeed all who could, fled before 
the fanatics, leaving the town in their hands. They 
reconstructed the Government after a form of their own, 
appointing Cnipperdoling and another proselyte Con- 
suls ; this was a mere form, for Matthias really directed 
their proceedings, uttering his commands as a prophet, 
to disobey any of which was death. They pillaged 
churches, sold the property of those who had fled, and 
dispensed for common use the wealth thus amassed : 
together they ate at tables prepared in public. The 
defences of the city were undertaken and carried out 
with much skilful forethought by bodies of men armed 
and disciplined. He sent emissaries to the Anabaptists 
in the Low Countries, inviting them to assemble in 
Munster. The Bishop of Munster, on the other hand, 



124 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

gathered together a large array, and advanced on the 
town. Matthias sallied out at the head of some chosen 
men, and defeated the Bishop. Intoxicated with ' his 
success, he declared his intention of smiting the host of 
the ungodly with a handful of men, as did Gideon of 
old. Thirty of them started ; all were killed, including 
Matthias. At first the loss of their prophet occasioned 
consternation, but John of Levden soon succeeded him. 
He merely carried on defensive war, but although less 
daring than Matthias, he was a far wilder fanatic. 
Divesting himself of all clothing, he went through the 
streets, preaching aloud, " that the kingdom of Sion 
was at hand; that whatever was highest on earth 
should be brought low, and whatever was lowest should 
be exalted." That this should be literally carried out, 
he had the loftiest buildings levelled with the ground, 
and the senators chosen by Matthias deprived of their 
positions. Cnippercloling was appointed hangman, after 
filling the highest office in this strange Commonwealth. 
The extraordinary hold their superstitious tenets had on 
these fanatics, induced them to accept the changes with 
joy. In place of the deposed senator, twelve judges, 
according to the number of the tribes of Israel, were 
appointed to preside over all state affairs, John ful- 
filling the part of Moses as legislator. However, not 
satisfied with merely being a prophet, he called the 
multitude together and declared it had been revealed 
to him that the w 7 ill of God was that he should be King 
of Sion, and sit on the throne of David. Kneeling down, 
he pretended to receive the heavenly call, which w T as 



LEYDEN. 



125 



immediately acknowledged by the deluded multitude. 
With a crown of gold on his head, clad in sumptuous 
garments, a Bible in one hand, a sword in the other, he 
assumed all the state and pomp of royalty. Money was 
coined and stamped with his image. Cnipperdoling, 
once more restored to power, was nominated Governor 
of the city as a reward for his submission. John soon 
began to advocate polygamy, and insisted it was one of 
the privileges of the saints. He himself began by 
taking three wives, one of whom was the widow of 
Matthias, a very beautiful woman, elected her Queen, 
and had her crowned. The number at last was raised 
to fourteen, still keeping the Queen above the others. 
But it was not to be supposed that this would be allowed 
to continue long. Fifteen months already had they 
held the city, when in the spring of 1535 the Bishop of 
Munster sent a force to besiege the town. This proving 
a failure, he determined to turn the siege into a block- 
ade. The length of the sufferings from the blockade 
at last began to tell, notwithstanding the encourage- 
ment John tried to give them. Those who dared to 
doubt his mission were put to death ; even one of his own 
wives suffered death for this. She was made to kneel 
down in the public square, and her head severed from 
her body, the multitude dancing round the bleeding 
corpse. Famine at last did its work, and a deserter 
from the city delivered it over to the enemy. The two 
last to suffer were John of Leyden and Cnipperdoling. 
John was loaded w T ith chains, and so carried from city 
to city, exposed to insult. He was ultimately brought 



126 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

back to Minister and put to death, his flesh being torn 
off him during life by hot pincers. His body was after- 
wards hung in chains and became food for carrion 
crows. John was only twenty-six years of age when he 
died. This is but a brief sketch of the extraordinary 
man whose name is linked with that of Ley den. 



HAARLEM. 



At Haarlem is the old castle in which the unhappy 
Jacqueline of Holland ended her stormy and luckless 
career, having returned to it in 1346, after renouncing 
all claims to her dominions, ceding them to Philip 
that she might thus save her last and best-loved hus- 
band's life. Hers is certainly one of the saddest of the 
many sad stories history hands us down. 

Haarlem supplies nearly the whole of Europe with 
bulbous roots, tulips, hyacinths, &c. ; they were brought 
to marvellous perfection by the horticulturists of this 
place two hundred years back, and fabulous prices have 
been given for particular bulbs. It is said one was 
purchased for 4400 florins, another for 1300. There is a 
story told of one man who had succeeded in growing a 
black tulip ; this he sold for 15,000 florins, and the pur- 
chaser immediately destroyed it, he being the second 
possessor of the same treasure, and determining at any 
cost to be the only one. Anecdotes without end are 
recounted of this tulip mania two centuries ago, which 



HAARLEM. 



127 



has, however, greatly decreased in the present day. 
Still certain plants command large prices. It is a 
pretty sight the bright patches of blossom as you pass 
the different nurseries, where each variety and colour is 
planted out alone in its allotted place. We w T ere for- 
tunate enough to see them during the season of full 
bloom, and the ground round about the town was con- 
verted into the brightest of floral carpets. 

Besides the castle inhabited of old by Jacqueline, 
there are the ruins of one that belonged to the Count 
Brederode, who played so prominent a part in the 
history of Holland and Flanders. 

The once famous Lake of Haarlem is now converted 
into a large tract of cultivated land, covered with 
farms and hamlets. The drying off of this immense 
expanse of water is one of the many great works 
bearing testimony to the energy of the Dutch. It was 
commenced in 1840, and the bed of the lake laid 
dry in 1853. Its extent, 45,230 acres ; the depth, 13 
feet. It was estimated that the contents pumped out 
amounted to a million tons. At the present time 
it is kept dry by the aid of three enormous steam- 
engines, which keep a surface of water in the drains 
eighteen inches below the general level of the bottom 
soil. It is not a healthy tract of land, as may w 7 ell 
be imagined, and fever, at certain seasons, is very 
rife. 

Passing down the quiet streets, one cannot fail to 
recall the terrible days, nay, months of suffering 
endured here during the long siege at the hands of 



128 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

Duke Frederick, three centuries ago. For seven weary 
months even the women and children helped to keep 
the enemy at bay. With .a tenacity and valour 
scarcely ever equalled was the struggle carried on. 
Harassed, starved, reduced, they still had energy 
enough not only to meet and undermine again- the 
mines of the Spaniards, but, in addition, to build a 
fortification within the outer ravelin, knowing that 
this could no longer bear another assault. The 31st 
of January, 1573, the Spaniards, after nearly three 
months' bombarding, made their night assault, and 
were received with alarm-bells ringing, burning mis- 
siles, hot pitch, and every available weapon that could 
be mustered by the besieged. When the ravelin was 
gained, the enemy found themselves before the second 
rapidly-constructed fortification bristling with cannon. 
In the meantime the Haarlemers, having previously 
undermined the old ravelin, blew it up with all the 
Spaniards who had carried it. For a time this caused 
a cessation of hostilities, but not for long. The 
attacks were again renewed, and cruelties practised to 
prisoners on both sides worthy of that barbarous age. 
Notwithstanding all his endeavours the Prince of 
Orange failed in his attempts to send either relief or 
troops to the famishing city. After unheard of 
miseries the brave citizens had to surrender on the 
12th July. Begardless of all the promises made by 
Duke Frederick two thousand three hundred of the 
vanquished, already half dead from famine, were put 
to death by his orders. The executioners, at last 



AMSTERDAM. 



129 



weary of the one mode of getting rid of their victims, 
varied it by binding many of them back to back, and 
casting them into the lake. Twelve thousand of the 
besieged army had died in the meantime from wounds 
and want. 

A. Van Ouwater, Diereck Stuerbout, J. Mastaert, 
as far back as the fifteenth century, and J. Wy- 
nants, Dick Van Bergen, A. Broun er, J. Van Huck- 
temburgh, K. Begyn, or Bega, the two Wouvermans, 
Nicolas Berchem, S. and Jacob Buysdael, P. Molyn, 
nicknamed " Tempesta," and J. Barkheyden, are the 
names of the most famous painters born in Haarlem. 



AMSTERDAM. 



The first line of railway" constructed in Holland was 
the one by which we reached Amsterdam. Fifty years 
ago this part of the country presented but an unre- 
claimed swamp, with the waters of the lake on one 
side, while the other was washed by the waves of the 
Ij. The whole has now been reclaimed, and filled in 
at an immense outlay of expense and labour. The 
bridge thrown over the Spaarne, which the railway 
crosses, has its two centre arches so constructed that 
they can be opened to allow the passage of ships., 
At Halfney there is "a portage in the canal, here 
interrupted by the enormous sluices which, previous to 
the drainage, separated the waters of the Ij from those 

K 



130 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



of the Haarlem Lake. The effect of opening them, 
and allowing' the waters of the Ij to enter the Haarlem 
Meer, would have been to submerge a great part of 
the province of Holland to a distance of thirty miles 
with an inundation covering not only the meadows, but 
even the dykes themselves. The height of the water 
is regulated by means of sluices and gauge-posts, 
marked with very minute divisions ; and the greatest 
attention is paid to the state of the waters at this 
particular spot. It is one of the principal stations of 
the water Staat. The safety of Amsterdam and the 
surrounding country from inundations depends upon 
the management of these sluices." 

Amsterdam takes her place in the history of Holland 
long after Haarlem, Dordtrecht, Leyden, and others. It 
was merely a fishing village in the twelfth century 
on the banks of the Amstel, and protected by the here- 
ditary castle of the Lords of Amstel. The first attempt 
at a town was when Gilbert II., Lord of Amstel, built 
a palisade round it to keep off the Frieslanders. Little 
by little it increased, the people constructing walls, 
dams, and fortifications. It is to the persecutions by 
the Spaniards that Amsterdam owes the commence- 
ment of a prosperity that has ever been increasing. 
The tyranny of Spain driving the persecuted Eeformers 
from Antwerp and other Flemish cities, they sought 
refuge in Amsterdam, bringing with them their manu- 
factures, industry, and patient energy. On the com- 
mercial ruins of Antwerp and Bruges rose the founda- 
tions of one of the richest cities of Holland and now 



AMSTERDAM. 



131 



its capital. It is one of the most wonderful cities of 
Europe, and is often called the Northern Venice. It 
cannot attempt to rival in beauty the fair Queen of the 
Adriatic, who even in her busiest commercial days 
claimed to be a city of palaces. Like her it certainly 
rises from the sea, and like her during her mercantile 
prosperity it traded with the whole world; but here 
the resemblance ceases. Amsterdam is the greater 
triumph of man's indomitable skill: albeit Venice is 
fairer to the eye. The little river Amstel divides the 
city, the eastern portion being called Oude Zijde (old 
side) as the earliest constructed ; the other the 
Nieuwe Zijde. Ninety canals intersect the city, cutting it 
up into islands connected by 334 bridges. The canals 
are bordered on one or both sides, with avenues of trees, 
fine houses, and spacious warehouses. They are all 
so much alike that it is difficult for strangers to find 
their way about the town. There is no tidal rise and 
fall in these canals. Artificial circulation, by the aid 
of steam, is therefore in some had recourse to, as at the 
Hague, while others are somewhat benefited by the sluices 
at high water that admit the Amstel being closed for 
awhile, and allowing the sea-water to circulate until 
again expelled by the river. All the drainage of the 
city finds its way into these canals, and the result of 
the system is very perceptible when the barges are 
passing, and the foul deposit is disturbed by the long 
poles with which the boats are propelled. The effluvia 
is sometimes intolerable to strangers. In some places 
the surface of the water is covered with an iridescent 

x 2 



132 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

film that is terribly tell-tale, and prevents any surprise 
being felt at bearing tbat Amsterdam is the most 
unhealthy of the Dutch cities. 

As we passed along the quay we remarked an old 
round tower looking seawards. This was built in the 
year 1482, and goes by the name of the " Tower of 
Tears" (" Schreyers toren"), as here all partings took 
place before the sailing away of the ships. It pro- 
bably owes its origin to the defences of the harbour, 
as do the tw T o others at different points, namely, the 
" Muts toren," which formed part of a fortress, and 
the " Montalbaans toren," situated on the " Oude 
Sehars" Canal, which also formed part of a fortifica- 
tion erected in 1512. 

On the principal dyke traversing the city stands 
the palace, besides other large and handsome build- 
ings. Its only remarkable beauty is the fine w T hite 
marble hall, 120 feet long, 57 wide, and 100 feet 
in height. It is decorated at both ends with old 
flags and banners captured from the Spaniards. The 
bas-reliefs in marble were executed by Artus Quellin, 
and, like everything he did, are very good. This 
edifice stands, or rather rests upon 13,695 wooden 
piles driven 70 feet deep into the shifting soil. As 
at Eotterdam, in consequence of this unstable foun- 
dation, we saw entire streets with their houses lean- 
ing at dangerous angles; but it appears to cause no 
alarm, as these were all inhabited from the cellars 
to the topmost story. Beneath every house are 
found cellars that shelter whole families and trades, 



AMSTERDAM. 



133 



house room is so valuable. On the iron rails of the 
worn steps leading to these wretched dens they im- 
provise stalls, on which are exposed the goods for sale. 

The Jews' quarter is densely populated, and filthy. 
We drove through it; and as the crowds were great, 
and the encumbrances many, our progress was slow, 
the excursion anything but pleasant. Amsterdam 
counts, besides her own population, 35,000 Jews. 
Many of the richest merchants are of that nation. 
From the earliest days in the history of Flanders and 
Holland these people have aided and shared in the 
prosperity of both countries. 

The " Oude Kerk" has some beautiful windows, 
both in form and colour, dating from the sixteenth 
and seventeenth century. Three of these are by 
Dyman, scriptural in subject, and surpassing any- 
thing we had yet seen. Others are historical, and 
also rich in the deep subdued hues of the glass 
of that period. Numberless tombs of gallant admi- 
rals adorn this church. 

The "Nieuwe Kerk" well repays the trouble of a 
visit, although the churches of Holland are very inferior 
to those of Belgium. This one has a beautiful brass 
screen and carved pulpit. At the far end of the 
church is erected the tomb of (Michiel Andriaanzon) 
Admiral Euyter, who sailed with his fleet up the 
Thames, burning the ships laying at Chatham, bom- 
barding the river, and threatening the Tower, while 
Charles II., with his courtiers, amused himself chasing 
a moth round the dining-room. The Admiral is re- 



134 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

presented resting with his head upon a cannon. There 
are many others besides his, and all raised to the 
memory of men who have done good service to their 
country. In this church the inauguration of the 
sovereigns takes place. 

The " Wester Kerk" holds all that remains of the 
great painter, Eembrandt. He lived the greater part 
of his life in this city, dying much impoverished in 
the poorest quarter, called the Eoosgrachcht. Another 
painter, Nicolas Berchem, also rests in this church. 

It is in Amsterdam that the great diamond cutting- 
mills are to be seen. These establishments belong 
to Jews, who for a long period were the only people 
acquainted with a secret which only became known to 
Europe during the fifteenth century.* These mills 
employ an immense number of hands. One alone has 
503 always at work. All the best cut diamonds of 
commerce pass through these establishments, to say 
nothing of well known — indeed they may be called 
historical — stones that have been entrusted to the work- 
men of this city. Besides the cutting of precious 
stones, the people of Amsterdam have other manu- 
factures specially their own; some, indeed, supposed 
to be their secret. Their manufactures of cobalt, 
vermilion, rouge, white-lead, are extensively known; 
also that of aquafortis, with scents and essential^oils, 
originally learnt from the Jews of old. The refining 

* In 1576 Louis Berguem was the first to discover the art of cutting 
diamonds, and polishing them with their own dust. 10,000 workmen 
are employed throughout the different workshops at this employment, 
9000 of whom are Jews. 



AMSTERDAM. 



135 



of borax and camphor is much carried on here, and 
forms a large item in their commerce. 

This country dates the commencement of its com- 
mercial prosperity to that time when the cruel tyranny 
of Spain tried to crush out the life and energy of the 
people it oppressed. In the fifteenth century the 
trading vessels of the Dutch resorted to Lisbon, there 
receiving the products of India, Ceylon, &c, brought 
from thence by Portuguese traders. An advantageous 
trade was thus established between the two countries ; 
but Philip, on acquiring the kingdom of Portugal, 
enraged at the revolt of the United Provinces of the 
Netherlands, and their abjuring their alliance, deter- 
mined to punish them by striking a blow at their 
commerce with Portugal. In 1594 he prohibited all 
trade with the Dutch, laid embargoes on their ships 
found in port, and imprisoned the merchants and 
crews, subjecting them to the Inquisition as heretics. 
This harshness, instead of subduing their spirit of 
enterprise, only stimulated them to further expansion, 
and from then dated their expedition to India, which 
ultimately led to their securing so good a footino* 
in that country, and the destruction of the Portuguese 
monopoly in the East. In less than a year from the 
time of Philip's prohibition the Dutch had formed a 
company called " Het Maatschappy van verre landes," 
or " Company for distant lands." In 1595 Cornelius 
Houtman took charge of the first fleet of Dutch 
merchantmen round the Cape of Good Hope. Al- 
though the English were the first to take formal 



136 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. ~ 

possession of the Cape, its colonization is due to the 
Dutch. After Yasco de Garua's discovery of a pas- 
sage to India, it became a temporary rendezvous for 
all European mariners. Despatches for the Dutch and 
English East India Companies' ships were secreted 
there by captains of outward-bound ships, inscrip- 
tions and cairns marking the spot where they would 
be found ; and letters, registers, &c, were thus taken 
up by homeward-bound vessels. In 1650 Van Eiebeck, 
a surgeon of one of the Dutch Government India ships, 
suggested the planting a colony out there. One hundred 
men, and the same number of women, were therefore 
dispatched from the " House of Industry" in Amster- 
dam to this far-distant home. How the little colony 
increased and flourished is well known. 

Not satisfied with having added the Cape and India 
to their mercantile connection, they sent expeditions 
to Java, Moluccas, and China. 1602 saw the arrival 
of Admiral Spilberg at the Port of Batticoloa, Ceylon, 
from which more than fifty years later the Dutch 
expelled the Portuguese. 

Again was it the Hollanders who commenced com- 
mercial relations with Japan — Nagasaki the port they 
selected. Jealously w r atched by the Japanese Govern- 
ment, they were never allowed to penetrate into 
the interior, but confined to Decima, a small detached 
portion of land at the termination of an isthmus. 
On the arrival of the first Dutch merchantman the 
Governor of Nagasaki was asked where the foreign 
traders should remain. Opening his fan he ran his 



AMSTERDAM. 



137 



finger down the narrow sticks, stopping at the end 
of the handle, thus intimating it was at the end of the 
narrow belt of land they were to be quartered. Strictly 
was the isolation kept up, the Dutch and their fac- 
tories shut in by large gates. 

To one William Barentez, while in search of a 
passage to the North Pole, is due the discovery of 
the whale fisheries. 

A walk along the busy quays showed us how the 
old enterprising spirit has lived on, and its results in 
the thousand craft waiting only for their freights, to 
sail away. Two enormous basins have been built for 
the reception of ships — the " Ooostelijk " and the 
" Westelijk," capable of holding 1000 vessels. 

Not satisfied with having constructed, with an en- 
gineering skill rarely met with out of Holland, the 
canal from the Helder to Bucksloot, on the north 
shore, opposite the city, they are now, fearing that 
their commerce might suffer from the development 
of the railway system, constructing a sea canal, a 
short cut to the North Sea. This, when completed, 
will be a wonderful work in all its details of sluices, 
locks, &c. Later it is proposed to enclose and pump 
out all the water between the banks of the new canal 
and the Ij and Wyker Meere, thus gaming another 
triumph over the sea. 

We met the 6C Aanspreker " flitting about like a 
bird of ill omen, calling at different doors announcing 
a death. This man's office is that of undertaker, and 
intimator of death to the family and friends of the 



138 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

deceased. He wears a peculiar dress, black tail-coat, 
knee - breeches, black stockings, and three - cornered 
hat, with a streaming black hatband and short cloak. 
The number of these men seen bent on their sad 
missions tended to confirm what we had heard of the 
unhealthiness of this city. 

Amsterdam has numberless admirable charitable 
institutions — orphanages, asylums for the aged and 
indigent, the insane, and the sick. There is a very 
fine building, an almshouse or hospital for Protestant- 
old men and women, looking on the Amstel. There is 
also another good institution, namely, the " Proveniers 
Huizen," or " Providers' houses, " which, for a com- 
paratively small sum, maintains both men and women 
who are no longer able to work. Many masters 
provide a home thus for their old servants. The 
" Maatschappy tot hut Van't algemen," or 66 Asso- 
ciation for the promotion of the public weal," is most 
useful. Its object is the instruction and improvement 
of the lower classes, promoting education for the 
young, improving all school books, establishing Sunday 
schools, and ultimately providing for the children. 
Added to these they have book societies, lectures, &c, 
savings' banks, and schools of art. Finally, a society for 
awarding rewards and medals to those who save life. 
These are only a few of the many praiseworthy institu- 
tions to be found here. The poor are well cared for, 
and the wealth gained by these indefatigable merchants 
is not grudgingly denied their poorer brethren. 

Many recipients of these different charities are dis- 



AMSTERDAM. 



139 



tinguished by a peculiar costume, such as one of the 
orphan institutions. The children belonging to this 
wear a parti-coloured dress, one half reel, the other 
black ; others, again, are grey, brown, of peculiar cut, or 
quaintly antique, like our own Blue Coat boys. The 
children are allowed to wander the streets at certain 
hours, and this marked uniform enables the authori- 
ties to have them under a certain amount of surveil- 
lance ; thus they cannot go into " drink-shops " or 
disreputable places without detection, leading to a 
curtailment of their own liberty, and the imposition 
of a heavy penalty on those who receive or induce 
them to enter such resorts. 

On the different canals one may study the various 
phases of a trader s prosperity. One sees them here 
of all degrees. A young man marries, buys a small 
flat-bottomed boat, with a cabin about the size of a 
dog-kennel ; with the wife, he takes a dog to guard 
them at night and help drag the boat with his master 
by day. The little craft is freighted with some humble 
wares ; the wife makes her home in the cramped cabin, 
while owner and dog drag her up the canals to market. 
If they prosper, they shift little by little into larger 
barges, until at last they arrive at the dignity of a 
mast and sail: then the man sits at the helm smok- 
ing, while the dog, no longer doomed to harness, shares 
his master's improved circumstances, and fraternizes 
with the little ones seen clustering above the now 
commodious cabin. But it is a hard life before they 
reach this prosperous stage, and it is very distressing 



140 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

to see them dragging their boats for hours against 
the current, easing their chests from the pressure of 
the towing-rope, their bodies bent nearly double con- 
tending with the stream. 

Above the doors of all apothecaries' and herbalists' 
. shops are placed large grotesque heads, with open 
mouths and lolling tongues, the head often surmounted 
by a fool's cap gaily painted. I could not ascertain 
the origin of the heads over these particular shops. 
They are called " Gappers." The " Spiegless," or 
mirrors, two or three at different angles, are before 
every window, repeating for the inmate of the quiet 
room the moving panorama of the busy thoroughfare.* 

We reserved our visit to the Museum of Pictures 
until the last, and were well rewarded for our patience. 
There we saw one of Eembrandt's famed paintings, 
well known to his admirers from engravings, which, 
however, can never give its colour, 'The Night Watch/ 
occupying the whole end of one of the i'ooms ; all 
the figures are portraits : no description could give an 
idea of the grouping of the whole, or the effect of 
light and shade. The red glow from the lanterns 
carried by the foremost groups, and falling in flicker- 
ing or ardent patches upon the crowd following, is 
such as Eembrandt alone could depict. Opposite to 
this, and somewhat larger, is a splendid picture by 
Barthelomeus Vander Heist. It represents the ban- 

* Amsterdam was the chosen resort of many English exiles. 
Argyle's expedition via Scotland was planned here, and he sailed from 
the " Zuyder Zee " in 1685. How disastrously that ended with his 
death on the scaffold, we all know. 



AMSTEKDAM. 



141 



quet of the City Guard of Amsterdam after the cele- 
brated Treaty of Munster, in 1684. There are several 
portraits by this master, besides those by Kembrandt 
and others, that should be seen by all lovers of art. 
The vitality of these Dutch and Flemish portraits 
is unequalled : beautiful and life-like as are many 
of the old Spanish and Italian portraits, they cannot 
be compared to these at Amsterdam, — the faces here 
have such wonderful individuality, such truth. The 
laughing eyes in some are irresistible ; you find your- 
self smiling in return. It is not canvas, but living 
men that surround you.' Jean Steen's famous picture 
of the 6 Lady and the Parrot ' is here ; also Gerard 
Dow's precious ' Night School/ protected, as should 
be anything so valuable, by glass. There are five 
different effects of light in this at first apparently 
dark painting. It is only after some seconds that 
the glow of light pervading some parts of the picture 
is realized. The numbers in this museum that claim 
notice are so great that the task at last becomes 
hopeless, and one is fain to give it up. To thoroughly 
enjoy all that is so well worth seeing would require several 
visits. I can only advise artists, and those really 
fond of art, to pay a visit to Holland and Belgium ; 
they will be well repaid; the distance is short, and the 
journey easy, — by some routes inexpensive ; and no 
one could ever forget what they had seen in these 
two countries. The very list of painters' names belong- 
ing to Amsterdam promises well. Although two 
centuries later than her old rivals, Antwerp and Bruges, 



142 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



in giving her sons to the world of art, she compensated 
for the delay by their goodly numbers ; Pierre Aertszen, 
Peter Schilder, known as " Long Peter " from his 
height, and Derk Barentez, were born in this city in the 
sixteenth century ; later occur the names of J. Greffier, 
the " Brother Adrian/' Van de VeMe, Philip Vandyke, 
called " The Little," in contrast to the great master, 
J. Beerestralen, L. Backhuizen, Karl du Jardijn, J. Van 
Huyssum, S. and Philip Koninck, J. Lutma, Aart, and 
Eglan Van de Neer. Keemier Nooms, E. Buysch, J. 
Van cler Bent, Eenier Zeeman, C. Troost, Adrien 
Backer, J. B. Weenix, J. Van Kessel, G. Van der Eck- 
hout, Derk Dolens, J. Beerstraatin, M. Carre, J 9 de 
Wit, W. Kalf, Isaac Moucheron, Peter Naso, P. Van 
Hillegoard, A. Stork, Jurriaan Andriessen, Torenburg, 
and Julius Quinkard. 

Of course, it was deemed impossible we should leave 
Holland without paying a visit to the little model 
village of Broek. We therefore crossed the gulf of 
the Ij, and, after some tumbling, for there was a rough 
sea running up from the Zuycler Zee, we landed at Zaan- 
dam. In severe winters the navigation in this gulf is 
impeded by the floating ice ; sometimes it is frozen 
over, as was the case in 1794-5, when the Dutch fleet, 
becoming immovably bound up in the ice, fell into the 
hands of the French cavalry and artillery that crossed 
the frozen surface of the Ij, under the command of De 
Pichegru. 

Zaandam is a curious little place, consisting mostly of 
wooden houses and heaps of sand, every house painted 



ZAANDAM. 



143 



a light-green, pink, or yellow. This place was, for a 
short time, the abode of Peter the Great of Russia, 
who there studied the art of boat building. The 
number of windmills equalled that of the dwelling- 
houses. It is a low, flat, uninteresting place, and we 
were detainel longer than we wished owing to a 
marriage. The happy couple were in the kirk, and all 
the available carriages had been engaged by the wedding 
company. We were assured matters would not take long, 
as all the convives belonged to the place, and the carriages 
really were needed but to enhance the effect of the affair. 
So we sauntered off, and endeavoured to wile away the 
time by walking through the place, — narrow, ill-paved 
or not-paved streets, cut up by frequent canals and 
muddy salt-water pools, into which the tide was sucked 
and disgorged twice a day, the fetid steam rising up 
under the hot sun, shedding malaria and fever abroad. 
A very short excursion through the streets satisfied us, 
and we were glad to stand and face the breeze from the 
sea, waiting for the carriage. At last the one that had 
conveyed the happy pair home rattled up to our rescue, 
the horses gaily decked in red harness thickly em- 
broidered with glittering white cowrie shells, bells, and 
other ornaments. The driver, equally smart, with a 
broad-brimmed felt hat turned up at the side with a 
thick scarlet cord and huge tassel. He presented such 
a festive appearance that all the children and clogs 
of the place turned out to admire and see us jingle off 
on the road to Broek, — a road that w T as carried along 
the top of an immense broad dyke, keeping out the 



144 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 



sea on one side. The shore was strengthened by large 
blocks of shelving stone and poles ; on the land side 
were long grey pools edged with reeds, and swarming 
with midges ; beyond these, again, rich pastures filled 
with grazing cattle. Several of the Zaandain carts, or 
light waggons, passed us : they are remarkably pic- 
turesque. Somewhat shaped like old Eoman cars, they 
are elaborately carved with wreaths of flowers or other 
designs, even to the spokes of the wheels, and coloured 
accordingly ; therefore a bright yellow cart would have 
its wreaths painted with green leaves and red flowers, 
&c. The horse appears to be placed uncomfortably 
near his work ; some are between ordinary shafts, others 
have a curious short, crooked pole rising in front, which 
the driver directs with his foot. As these require great 
skill in driving, accidents often occur. The horses are 
handsomely shaped, heavy, and thick-set. On first 
leaving Zaandam there hung a heavy marsh fog over 
everything. 

" It had caught the nodding bulrush tops, 
And hung them thickly with diamond drops. 5 ' 

The cobwebs suspended from the tall thistles and 
marsh plants looked as if spun in pure silver; but as 
the day grew older 

" A wind came out of the sea, 
And said, O mists make room for me." 

And slowly the fog rolled away, the sun shining 
out bright and clear, cheering up the prospect. The 
wind that had shifted came straight to us across the 



BROEK. 



145 



marshes from the North Sea ; a wind that carried 
the brine from the salt sea with it. We could taste 
it on our lips. Although it obliged us to wrap our 
cloaks tightly round us, we did not feel inclined to 
quarrel with its freshness, after the stagnant canals 
of Amsterdam. The sun glistened on the highly- 
varnished brown and green tiles roofing the sparse 
houses. Above the crisp waves the sea-gulls circled 
and swooped ; at one moment appearing dull grey 
birds, the next, as they turned into bright sunlight, 
silver birds, with golden wings, while flocks of cur- 
lews hovered overhead, uttering their wailing notes, 
like spirits in pain. There was little variation in 
the scene; a few fishing hamlets, with nets spread 
out to dry, and dreary sand-heaps. The cattle warmly 
clothed, and the distant ships rejoicing in the breeze 
that had sprung up, was all we saw until we reached 
Broek. The keen air and long drive lead us to seek 
for breakfast in a small house on the edge of a long 
canal, at the entrance to the village. Some delicious 
coffee, and home-made bread, with cream and cheese 
such as are only met with in a dairy country, were 
placed before us on a dark, highly-polished wooden 
table, the whole furniture of the room being of the 
same wood. The hostess stood smiling before us, 
watching our satisfaction: a short black stuff skirt, 
buckled shoes, blue stockings, a brightly-striped apron, 
and a kerchief folded over her broad shoulders, long 
gold earrings, a broad necklace of gold and beads, 
w 7 ith the usual forehead and temple plates of gold, 

L 



146 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

while large-headed pins of the same metal held up 
the long flaps of her handsome lace cap.* We had 
ample time to study all the details of her dress, and 
give it the amount of admiration it deserved. The 
good woman attended to us with a kindliness that 
was very pleasant. 

Broek is in itself an absurd little place. In fact, if 
I may venture to say so, it is a complete " take in." 
Albert Smith used to tell wonderful stories about it. 
It may have changed since then: certainly we could 
see nothing to attract visitors. There is, indeed, one 
house kept in order for exhibition, and can only be 
accepted as such. All the front doors of the houses 
remain closed. They are never opened save for the 
first entrance of the owner on taking possession, and 
when he last leaves for a still smaller abode, with 
the exception of a marriage or christening. For 
ordinary traffic the back-door is used. Windows are 
never opened for fear of dust. Carriages never dis- 
turb the quiet, as the streets are too narrow to admit 
them. Notices are posted at every corner, prohibit- 
ing the use of tobacco. Shoes are to be left at the 
outer door ; " cows have their noses wiped, and their 
tails tied up/' if one is to believe all the stories told. 
The whole place was so quiet that it appeared asleep. 
The old witch, with her sharp distaff of the fairy tale 
had been apparently at work here. Will there ever 
be a prince bold enough to face the swampy ditches 
and break the spell? One of our party saw an old 

* Some of these head-dresses cost from 1 to 2000 guilders ! 



BROEK. 



147 



man emerge from a back-door, and we passed a small 
boy weeding between some round pebbles that were 
laid down in patterns, such as we see in the gardens 
of small suburban retreats round about London, and 
here in the guide-books termed a "mosaiced" pave- 
ment. We stood to watch the only bit of life we 
had found in this stupid place from a rustic bridge 
that was thrown across an apology for a stream. 
Beneath us floated a flat-bottomed boat, moored to 
some overhanging willows. In it sat a very dirty 
man fishing for eels. He seemed half asleep under 
the spell that overhung the whole place — "A land 
where all things seemed the same." Agreeing be- 
tween ourselves that we had taken a long drive for 
nothing, we retraced our steps to find, as we came 
opposite Amsterdam, the sun setting in golden glory 
behind the long panorama of city and crowded ship- 
ping that we looked upon across the gulf ; the distant 
spires, tipped with fire, and the tall masts, with their 
delicate cordage, looking like cobwebs in their inter- 
lacing against the radiant colours of the western sky. 

Our six weeks' holiday needed but a few days to 
its termination, and therefore the next day we left 
this strange city of the sea, gazing back with mingled 
feelings of admiration and fear, for did we not know 
that its safety alone depended upon the watchfulness 
and skill of its engineers ? If but one of those immense 
dams, two of which have been added since 1851, and 
constructed with huge flood-gates to withstand the 
pressure of the sea, were to yield, the whole city would 



148 A FEW DAYS IN BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. 

be inundated. The cost of this incessant struggle 
with the sea amounts to several thousand guilders 
daily. Much of this extraordinary country towards 
the coast is lower than the adjacent ocean — thirty and 
more feet at high-water mark. 

Thinking, therefore, of the danger ever overhanging 
the vast multitudes we had seen during our pleasant 
stay in the " Northern Venice/' as it is styled, we left 
it with a feeling akin to sadness. 

" My pen is at the bottom of a page, 
Which being finished, here the story ends ; 
3 T is to be wish'd it had been sooner done, 
But stories somehow lengthen when begun." 



THE END. 



LONDON: PRINTED BY EDWARD STANFORD, 6 AND 1, CHARING CROSS, S.W. 



